By Scoop Malinowski
Status: ATP no. 717. Played for Middle Tennessee State University.
DOB: October 4, 1999 In: Porto, Portugal
Ht: 6-2 Wt: 180
First Memory Of Tennis: When I was ten I was trying out different sports and my mom (Marta) and dad (Jorge) always liked tennis. They were like, Why don’t you try tennis? So that Saturday I tried tennis and I’ve been playing all the time ever since.
Inspirations: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Last Book Read: It was actually Nadal’s book.
First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: It was probably Joao Sousa, the best Portuguese tennis player of all time. It was at a club in Porto. He lives about an hour from here, he came here to practice. We got to hit some balls with him, me and my brother (Henrique, also a professional player, now ranked ATP 246 in singles). I was fourteen. (Did he share any tips?) Not that day. But since I’m back from university, I practice with him a few times. He gave tips on how to deal with tennis life compared to other jobs. The best tip I think was to work really hard, everybody wants to win so much. He emphasized to be really intense in practice.
Greatest Career Moment (so far): Last week when I got my first when I got my first ATP Challenger main draw win in Maia, about 20 minutes from Porto (63 63 vs Roberto Bonadio ATP 204).
Most Painful Moment: The one that I remember from college, in my fourth season we were one match from reaching the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ for the first time in our university’s history. We played for five and a half hours and lost 4-3. I remember the whole team was crying.
Favorite Tournament: I would say Wimbledon. I mostly played junior tournaments in my country. Once I went to university, my career started going up.
Why Do You Love Tennis: First of all, I love to compete. I love the adrenaline of competition. Every day you have to go out there and try to be better than the day before. Because it’s so challenging, it drives something in me to want to do it more and more and I love that excitement.
Funny Tennis Memory: Well, there was one story in college. I was playing a conference final. The coaches were allowed to stand next to us on the side of the court. I had a second serve on the ad court, the ball hit the net cord tape and bounced up and their coach grabbed the ball. So it was my point, it should have been a double fault.
Embarrassing Tennis Memory: I probably have one [laughs]. I would say probably a bad loss or a moment when I was young and I didn’t behave well. I don’t have one of those specific moments to tell you.
Best You Ever Felt On Court: It was earlier this year. I was playing a $25,000 Futures first round in Setubal against a Portuguese player (Duarte Vale) who during my whole career I thought was better than me, he was higher ranked as a junior, played all the junior Grand Slams, he won the national championship at University of Florida on Ben Shelton’s team. I had never played him before. That day we played it clicked for me. I was firing forehands. Even when they weren’t going in, the next point I continued to play well. I won the match 64 63. (What was his reaction?) He definitely was not very happy. He knew me. I was going up in the rankings. And we were both playing at a pro tournament about a year and a half ago. I played a match and lost and he came up to me and said, ‘Kid, you’re playing really, really well…’ That kind of stuck with me. The fact that he came to me that day and said those encouraging words gave me extra motivation. And then we played (in September this year), unfortunately I played really well against him.
Strangest Match: We had a match in college. The maximum wind limit is 20 miles an hour. I remember that day the wind was above that. But both coaches wanted to play outdoors. It was so windy that we couldn’t control the ball. It was at SMU. We ended up winning. I won 64 in the third. At the time I think they were 22 in the nation and we were 25. I remember it was so crazy, tough to play and we were exhausted after, from trying to focus on the ball and expending so much energy.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Chocolate.
Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: Soccer.
Favorite Players To Watch: I love Jannik Sinner now. I feel he has the perfect formula to play tennis. He’s so composed, he can create power from any part of the court.
Fiercest Competitor Encountered: This is a weird one. I spent five years with my team in college. I had a teammate Stijn Slump – we were always battling for no. 1 and no. 2. We had an amazing friendship which we keep to this day and I hope to maintain in the future. We always respected each other and brought out the best in each other.
Funniest Player Encountered: I know there’s a really funny player from Portugal Jaime Faria. The way he acted on court. He’s one of my friends. He gets really into the match. Sometimes he complains about things outside the match, because that’s where the mind takes you sometimes. He’s funny off the court also.
People Qualities Most Admired: Loyalty is a big one. I would say being honest, straight-forward, enjoying a good laugh, being funny.
ATP · Francisco Rocha · Jannik Sinner · Middle Tennessee State University · Portugal · Rafael Nadal
