June 8, 1997, dressed in a blue and yellow outfit, Gustavo Kuerten, 66th in the world, raises the trophy of the prestigious French tournament under the applause of an audience seduced by the elegance of the Brazilian player
We are in 2023 and the good days of Brazilian tennis have never seemed so far away.
The reality is that in the last 20 years and since the end of Kuerten's prime, not a single Brazilian player has reached the top 10.
After years of darkness for the Brazilian nation, this second of March 2020 shows up as the light Brazil was waiting for.
Becoming the first player of the 2000 generation to win a tournament on the ATP circuit, Thiago Seyboth Wild, 20 years old appears as the new Brazilian superstar.
Seyboth Wild winning his first ATP Title, Source : TennisTV
As a clay court specialist, Kuerten may have found his successor. The dream is appealing, the awakening is brutal.
In the aftermath of his title, the young Brazilian is experiencing a series of disappointments as he struggles to get past the first round of any ATP tournaments.
What's worse, the young Brazilian is slowly dying out in the following seasons, struggling to win on the secondary circuit.
The story could well have stopped here, but it wasn't in the script written by Seyboth Wild. Having been forgotten by the tennis public, the Brazilian rose from the ashes in 2023.
Excellent results on the challenger circuit as well as a surprise victory over Daniil Medvedev have enabled the Brazilian to make his comeback on the scene, moving back into the top 100 in the meantime.
Seyboth Wild after his victory over Medveded at the French Open 2023, Source : Ouest France
Thiago Seyboth Wild may not yet have fully rediscovered his game, but his confidence seems to have been restored and the young Brazilian's career could well (finally) start to take off.
A born clay court player
Overall, the Brazilian knows how to do everything from kicking serves to hitting drop shots.
This versatility alone is a huge advantage as it allows the Brazilian to combine game sessions.
The Paraná native will therefore use his kick serve before following up with a drop shot and the speed of his movements to shift on the forehand.
His backhand may not be a weakness, but it is through the use of his forehand that Seyboth Wild is able to overwhelm his opponent
"If he continues to play that way, by the end of the year, he's top 30"
Daniil Medvedev
Clay being a surface that generally presents a certain slowness, tennis here resembles more a chess game in which each shot must be well thought out.
With his wide range of shots, the Brazilian adapts completely to this surface, which is his favorite hunting ground considering his past achievements.
Seyboth Wild's strong comeback is now allowing him to take part in the major events of the tennis season.
It is now time for the Brazilian to make his mark on other surfaces in order to establish himself among the very best.
What if Brazilian tennis was finally back in the spotlight?
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