Home Hope Comes Through! Jarry Is Santiago Champion

The cries reverberated through the Santiago night countless times over the course of nearly three hours on Sunday.

“Ole! Ole, Ole, Ole! Nico! Nico!”

Those chants were for Santiago-native Nicolas Jarry, who rewarded his many fans with a performance to remember. The Chilean won the Movistar Chile Open with a memorable 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

“It’s really unbelievable. I can’t believe that I’m champion in this historic tournament of my family,” Jarry said after the match with his infant son in his arms. “It means a lot to me, especially for the two weeks in a row. It’s been very tough and I managed to keep on going this week. It’s been amazing.”

Jarry won his last four matches of the tournament in three sets and rallied from a set down in his final three clashes to claim his second ATP Tour title (also 2019 Bastad). After reaching the semi-finals last week in Rio de Janeiro and lifting the trophy at home, he will climb to No. 52 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, 100 spots higher than he started the season.

^{A scenic view during the Santiago final. Photo: Aljaro/Binder}
The Chilean and the home crowd were on the verge of going home disappointed. Although Jarry led 4-1 in the second set, his relative inconsistency compared to Etcheverry, who was pursuing his first tour-level crown, nearly cost him a chance at home glory. He double faulted the break back to the Argentine and trailed by a mini break in the ensuing tie-break.

But Etcheverry, who was within two points of his first ATP Tour title at 5/5 in the tie-break, was unable to take the match from his opponent. Jarry let out a massive roar after forcing a deciding set.

“I think [Tomas] went down a little bit in the third set. I tried to push with all my heart here,” Jarry said. “He played unbelievable tournament, an unbelievable two sets. I managed to win the second tie-break, which I knew was very important emotionally.”

The former World No. 38 had more firepower than his opponent and that proved critical. Jarry crushed a backhand winner to earn two break points in the first game of the third set and then punished a forehand to seize the lead.

The Chilean never looked back, riding his momentum to the finish line, much to the joy of the Santiago faithful. After holding to love to close out the match, thousands simultaneously leapt to their feet as Jarry celebrated his two-hour, 47-minute victory.