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Martin Landaluce US Open 2022
ATP Tennis Players, Tennis News, Tennis Tournaments

Five things to know about Martin Landaluce


Martin Landaluce is yet another young Spanish star making his way towards being a fully fledged professional. 

Here Tennishead tells you what you should know about the teenage talent so you can keep an eye out on how he develops moving forward.

1) Background

Martin Landaluce was born on 8th January 2006 in Madrid, Spain. He has loved tennis for as long as he can remember.

“I picked up [my first racket] when I was practically a year old, as soon as I learned to walk,” he told Radio Marca in September 2022.

“I saw my whole family playing and although I couldn’t even use the racket, I also wanted to get on the court. I went hitting with my father (Alejandro), who little by little gave me more time.”

2) World class training

Like a number of burgeoning players, Martin Landaluce has spent time training at the prestigious Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca. He joins US Open finalist Casper Ruud as an alumnus of the academy.

3) An unexpected grass run

As one might expect of a Spanish player, Martin Landaluce did not have much grass experience before the 2022 season. Ahead of Wimbledon, he played the J1 Nottingham tournament, his first event on grass. The 16-year-old went on to claim the title. He then backed it up by winning again in Roehampton the very next week. That took his win streak on the surface to 11.

He entered SW19 seeded 10th for the boys’ singles. And his results did not let up, reaching the semi-finals without dropping a set. He did eventually lose to American Michael Zheng after a final set tiebreak 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7). Still, 15 wins in a row on your first foray on grass is thoroughly impressive.

“Because I play very aggressively and very flat, my game has adapted very well to the super pace of grass,” Landaluce said at the time. “I thought it was going to be difficult for me, but I have felt so comfortable on the grass these last few weeks.”

 

4) Martin Landaluce triumphs in New York

No doubt full of confidence from his Wimbledon run, Landaluce entered the 2022 US Open seeded fifth. He reached the final after coming through top seed Daniel Vallejo in the semis. There he faced second seed Gilles-Arnaud Bailly of Belgium.

It was the pair’s second meeting in as many Slams. Landaluce defeated Bailly 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 in the third round of Wimbledon. And the Spaniard emerged the victor once more, this time 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-2. For a second year in a row a Spanish boy had won the junior US Open title. Dani Rincon was the 2021 champion.

 

 

5) ATP debut – Martin Landaluce goes for it in Gijon

Martin Landaluce made his ATP Challenger debut on 4th October 2022 in Alicante, Spain. Entered as a wildcard, he lost to world number 266 Michael Geerts of Belgium 6-2, 6-3. The next week and still just 16 years old, Landaluce earned himself a wildcard into the ATP 250 Gijon Open. He faced world number 30 Tommy Paul in the first round, himself a junior Slam champion at the 2015 French Open.

Overall Landaluce presented himself well on his tour debut. But the American was too strong and experienced in the end, defeating the youngster 6-3, 6-0.

 

 

Featured image credit Pete Staples – USTA

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