Jacopo Vasamì in the footsteps of maestro Nadal, baptism of victory: “Now I can even stand up to the 'pros'”

All they expected Federico China and instead Jacopo Vasamì emerges in the first round of the Challenger 100 Atkinsons Monza Open 25. Il seventeen year old from Abruzzo, a promise of Italian tennis who grew up inacademy of his idol Rafa Nadal, who entered the draw with a wild card, quickly defeated the British Paul Jubb, number 6 in the world rankings and at his fifth defeat on his debut in 3 in as many tournaments in which he has participated, with a quick 6/4, 218/2025. Vasamì showed the coolness and wisdom of a veteran.

Yet the Aquilan of Avezzano who she trains with Fabrizio Zeppieri at the Nomentano Club in Rome it was only his second appearance on the category circuit after last week's experience in Barletta, where he had passed the qualifications, wasting a match point in the first round against the Ukrainian Vitaliy Sachko before giving in to the tie break in the third set. At the Villa Reale Tennis instead he kept calm in moments of confusion (such as halfway through the first set and at the beginning of the second), arriving at the first important victory in his very young career.

"After lto defeat in Barletta with so many missed opportunities I was I was very sorryor – Vasamì recalls -, I dreamed about it for a few nights. At the same time the opportunity to get back on the pitch straight away was motivating”Last year Jacopo stood out in the European Under 18 Championships held in Oberpullendorf, Austria, where he reached the final, defeated by Romanian Luca Preda.

However, the Abruzzese is burning the stages and the youth tournaments risk becoming tight: "It's the second Challenger of his career, it's a different world and with different players - he says -. In Monza the tournament is well looked after by the organizers and puts the players in the ideal conditions to express themselves at their best. Having these experiences will certainly help me a lot. Against Jubb I entered the field thinking I was competitive and I proved it. I waited for the right moment to participate in this kind of tournament, I'm happy to have seen that I can stay at this level from now. Here the opponents have a certain experience, you face them with a greater threshold of attention, I hope to do the same in the next round too".

Waiting for him it will be Martin Landaluce, another young up-and-coming talent who in Spain they hope to see soon in the top areas of the rankings. The nineteen-year-old from Madrid began his apprenticeship last year, winning the Olbia Challenger by beating Mattia Bellucci in the final act, currently ranked number 154 ATP, but he was also close to the top-130. He began 2025 with the semifinal in the Canberra Challenger and the qualification for the Australian Open, then he strung together four consecutive defeats against not irresistible opponents before arriving in Brianza, where he beat the lucky loser Remy Bertola (6/1 6/4). He seems to be going through a normal period of decline in the path of growth at a high level, it will be interesting to see if Vasamì will take advantage of his current insecurities.