Australian Open, the path of the Italians: Sinner with Tsitsipas”>Andy Murray, winner of three Grand Slams and five times finalist in Melbourne, fell this Thursday in the second round of the Australian Open, in a particularly disastrous day for the British, who lost the Scotsman and his great hope in the women’s draw, the US Open champion, Emma Raducanu. The person responsible for the elimination of Murray (triple 6-4 in 2h48) was Taro Daniel, a 28-year-old Japanese who is 120th in the world, and who has strong ties to Spain, as he lived and studied in Valencia between the ages of 13 and 21.
Daniel, the son of an American and a Japanese, born in New York, speaks his mother tongue, English and Spanish, quite fluently. His father, a great tennis fan and former university tennis player, took him to the Saladar Academy, in Silla, where José Francisco Altur and Pancho Alvariño trained him.
Taro Daniel (right), when he was proclaimed champion of a Futures played in Barcelona in 2013, during the time he lived in Valencia.
RFET
“I think this win is up there with Djokovic, who is the best tennis player of all time, in Indian Wells, but I feel like I played better today.”said Daniel, who grew up in the neighborhood of El Campanar and is clear that his style is highly influenced by his training in the Peninsula. “Spain is the base of my game. I was there for almost 10 years and really grew up with a very, very Spanish upbringing. The tactics, the way I hit the ball, the way I lived, you know, so I feel a bit Spanish, 30 percent. On the court I speak in Spanish. So I owe a lot to my upbringing in SpainSure, because I don’t think I would have been able to be a pro if I had been in Japan or California the whole time.”
Now lives and trains in Florida
“Now my official residence is in Florida and I train at the IMG Academy. But I’m a little all over the place. MY coach here is from the Japan Tennis Federation, Mitsuru Takada. I have been working with him on and off for the past few years. And then I have a great team behind me, my physical trainer, and I am still in contact with Sven Groeneweld, who supports me in a different way. And obviously my coach and my mentor, Jackie Reardon, “explains Taro, a nice guy, before saying goodbye to the two Spanish journalists from AS and EFE who are covering the tournament on site: “I could tell where you were from from the second question (in English) because of the accent. Thanks a lot. I have very good memories of Spain, I had a great time”. On Saturday he will face either Steve Johnson or Jannick Sinner in the third round, his biggest Grand Slam milestone.
Australian Open Men’s Draw.
