Five Things To Know About Cristian Garin

Cristian Garin has proven himself a clay-court stalwart over the past two seasons, winning all four of his ATP Tour titles on the surface. The former junior Grand Slam titlist has quickly established himself among the world’s best, and he is currently the No. 2 South American, trailing only Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, who is World No. 13

ATPTour.com looks at five things you should know about Garin.

1) Garin is at his career-high FedEx ATP Ranking
Garin enjoyed a breakthrough 2019 season, winning his first two ATP Tour titles in Houston and Munich. The Chilean has not let that momentum slip in 2020, triumphing in Cordoba before lifting his biggest trophy yet in Rio de Janeiro.

The 23-year-old is now at a career-high World No. 18. It has been a rapid rise for Garin, who first cracked the world’s Top 100 on 29 October 2018. He made his first ATP Tour final last March in Sao Paulo, losing in straight sets against Guido Pella. It was a disappointing defeat, as Garin saw it as his big chance to earn a crown.

“I’m not sure what to think because I didn’t expect to win an ATP Tour title after Sao Paulo,” Garin said after his Houston victory last year. “Now that I’ve won, I want to just go back home for a few days and work again.”

2) He spent time living in Spain
When Garin was 18, he moved to Spain, changing coaches and residences in the hopes of competing in more tournaments. It was the first time he lived anywhere but in Santiago, Chile.

But in 2018, he moved to Argentina for several months to work with coach Andres Schneiter, before ultimately returning to Santiago. However, his partnership with Schneiter has proven fruitful.

“It was tough because I made many changes, maybe some bad changes. I lost many times and had some problems with ex-coaches. I moved to Spain and maybe it wasn’t a good decision for me,” Garin said last year. “But in the past year, I’m making good things happen and working hard every day, so I’m seeing the results now.”

3) Garin made history as a teen
In his first tournament of 2013, in Vina del Mar, Garin defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4 to become the fifth player 16 or younger (since 2000) to win an ATP Tour match.

“It was big pressure,” Garin said.

Just months later, he won the 2013 Roland Garros Boys’ Singles title. It took him until last February in Buenos Aires to win his next ATP Tour main draw match.

4) Garin is clutch under pressure
Garin may be World No. 18, but he ranks higher in Infosys’ ATP Under Pressure Rating. He is seventh in the category over the past 52 weeks, only trailing Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Nick Kyrgios.

The rating accounts for performance in tie-breaks, deciding sets and break points (both won and converted).

In the past year, Garin has won 55.2 per cent of his tie-breaks, 73.7 per cent of his deciding sets, converted 41.2 per cent of his break points and saved 62.3 per cent of the break points he faced

5) UNO, Clash Royale and Business
Garin and Schneiter keep things lighthearted off the court, playing games with one another when possible. They include the card game UNO, as well as competing in the app Clash Royale.

“We play a lot… it’s too good,” Schneiter told ATPTour.com.

If Garin wasn’t a professional tennis player, the Chilean says he would be a businessman. He also enjoys watching NBA basketball, and his favourite foods are sushi and pizza.