Keep this name, because it is possible that it will bring many joys to Spanish tennis in the future: Martín Landaluce. At 18 years old, the young tennis player from the Rafa Nadal Academy achieved his first victory as a professional on the ATP circuit after defeating another Spanish tennis player, Jaume Munar, 6-3, 1-6 and 7-5 at the Miami Open. .
Landaluce, who became number one in the ITF Junior ranking in 2023, winner of the US Open of the category in 2022 with an impressive balance of 58-8 in his career on that circuit (88% victories), made the tournament It would have been more than worth it to have extended an invitation to him for the final draw.
This was Landaluce’s fourth ATP match after competing in Gijón 2022, with a two-set loss to Tommy Paul; the Mutua Madrid Open 2023, when he fell in two sets to Richard Gasquet, and the Umag 2023, where he stood up, but lost in three sets against the Japanese Daniel, before achieving his first victory on Thursday. He is the second player born in 2006 to win an ATP match after Brazilian Joao Fonseca.
A triumph that Landaluce cemented with a break in his first game from the rest, which allowed him to win the first set, but in which the young tennis player also had to deal with nerves (he committed 29 unforced errors), especially in the second set. However, Martín was firmer than Munar in the decisive moments, despite suffering a break at the beginning of the third set. Since, with 4-5 and serve for Munar to close the match, Landaluce broke his serve and did the same in the twelfth game to avoid the tie-break.
“I’m very happy. It’s great to win here in a big tournament, in front of my family, my team… I was very nervous, feeling out of my body, like I was a ghost. It was hard, but I believe a lot in myself and I will try to learn from this match and enjoy the moment,” said the man from Madrid, trained in the territorial Federation, who will continue his adventure in the Miami Masters 1,000 in the second round this Saturday (if the rain does not prevent it) against another of the young tennis talents: the American Ben Shelton, semifinalist of the last US Open. All this, in the middle of exams. “I am in my last year of school and this week is exams,” said the man from Madrid in an interview with ATPTour.com. “That’s why I’ve been studying this week. With the time difference, I have to be doing remote exams at 7:30 or 8:30. They are an hour and a half. And then in the afternoon you have to try to make time for a class or whatever you can.”
Rise in the ranking
Landaluce sees how this victory allows him to make an important leap in the ATP ranking, as he provisionally goes from 360th place with 137 points (his highest ranking dates back to March 4th at 359th place), to 314th place thanks to these 30 points. to stand at 167. Only Jakub Mensik (present in the Top-100), Dino Prizmic and Alexander Blockx have a better ranking among tennis players aged 18 or younger.
Landaluce, with an impressive build for his age (1.91) and an aggressive playing style, shares an agent with Carlos Alcaraz, whom he admires, and Daniel Rincón, Albert Molina, who has already gotten him sponsors such as Red Bull.
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