The Argentine secrets of Darwin Blanch, the 16-year-old phenomenon who showed up with his tennis at the Miami Masters 1000

The information of ATP He was referring to a boy of just 16 years old, 1,034th in the world ranking and whose best performance of the season was reaching the semi-finals of an M15 in Bull, a tournament corresponding to the lowest level of professionalism. Furthermore, who is eighth in the junior rankings and who is making his debut in the Miami Masters 1000 Wednesday allowed him to be the fifth youngest tennis player in history to play in a tournament of that category. He also indicated that he was a semi-finalist in the junior tournament Wimbledon last year and who had eliminated him in the first round a month earlier Roland Garros at number 1, the Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco. More data? He added that he trains at the Academy Juan Carlos Ferrero and with whom he usually shares practices Carlos Alcaraz, nothing less. But before losing in his presentation in one of the most important tournaments of the calendar against the Czech Thomas Machacwhat was not talked about around the American left-hander Darwin Blanch It is from his strong connection with Argentina.

Blanch is the youngest of four siblings born in the United States. but to whom life’s twists and turns have taken them around much of the world chasing the dream of becoming professional tennis players. At the beginning the family was linked to the father’s work. Spanish and CEO of Coca Cola In Thailand, in Bangkok the boys began to play with Argentine teachers and from the Thai capital one after another they came to our country and settled in Buenos Aires.

He was the first to arrive Ulysethe eldest, who ended up in CETtraining center that operated in Argentine federal shooting directed by Daniel Garcia, Roberto Graetz (both former captains of the Davis Cup team) e Claudio Mena. At first she stayed in the house of Camillo Ugo, now 112th in the rankings, and lived there for a year and a half. With a great serve, she played well Ulysses Blanchwas summoned by United States Tennis Association and even became a junior semi-finalist at Wimbledon, although injuries later slowed his growth.

A year after the landing of the first of the Blanchs, the father and his other three sons arrived: from there, Crystal AND Darwin. They bought an apartment in front of the CET and each built their careers with the coaches of the center itself: Dalì was a finalist in the Orange Bowl and, like Ulysses, today plays among the challengers. Ulises is 25 years old and is 482nd in the ATP and Dali is four years younger and is in 654th place; Kristal, the only woman, plays American college tennis.

Darwin Blanch, the boy in this story, was picked up by Daniel García at the age of 9 and immediately began winning tournaments in Argentina in the pre-children category. CET immediately gave him a private bus and Martín Pérez began accompanying him. Until the pandemic arrived. And everything has changed, of course. In March 2020, the father decided to go to Australia and the boys went with him along with Mauricio Pérez Mota, another coach from the academy.

They spent less than a month in that country and again packed their bags for Taiwan, where they stayed for six months. When Covid-19 eased and tennis was played again in Europe, Darwin Blanch went to Manacor to train at Rafael Nadal’s academy and from there to Villena, Alicante, to remain under Ferrero and live day by day day with one of the best players in the world like Alcaraz.

With great serve and great drive; With a very good height for his age (1.90 meters) and great mobility for his size – a virtue he did not have as a boy – Blanch received the special invitation to play in Miami. There are three reasons for that wild card: his American nationality, his status as the best junior in the world and the hand of Albert Molina, Alcaraz’s manager who also manages the interests of the Ferrero academy. What will happen to the boy in the future no one knows. But what is absolutely certain is that there will be Argentinians who will be very attentive to his evolution.