In just 67 minutes, Alejandro Tabilo left Novak Djokovic reeling at the Italian Open. The road to tennis wasn’t smooth sailing for the Chilean-Canadian player. The 26-year-old recently opened up about a pivotal life experience that spurred him to forge a career in the sport at the tender age of 13, leaving his family behind.

The former 32-ranked tennis player was recently asked to reflect on the painful childhood sacrifice in his life, as he is currently performing at an incredible level. In an interview with Tennis Channel, he stated, “I think the biggest one is leaving my family when I was 13 to move to Florida.”

Further, he added, “I think that was like a very big moment in my life and but I think that helped me a lot to be very independent and just kind of build my own way. It’s just been such a crazy ride especially with my family, when I was little kid, waking up in the mornings, driving to the courts, and everything it’s been tough.”

Subsequently, Tabilo was born in Toronto to Chilean parents Ricardo and Maria, who met during their time in Canada. But his actual tennis journey started when he was 18, after shifting places from one to the other. In a press conference during the Italian Open, he added, “I was born in Toronto. I moved to the United States when I was 13. When I was around 18, I moved to Santiago. There, basically, my whole journey started with a new team.”

However, just like leaving his family behind was his life-changing moment, defeating the 24-time Grand Slam champion might turn out to be a career-changing moment for him. To reach the fourth round in Rome, the 26-year-old tennis player opened up about sealing the biggest one of his career.

Alejandro Tabilo talks about the ‘incredible’ victory

Djokovic’s bid for a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 championship came to an abrupt halt at the hands of Tabilo of Chile. It was difficult for the 32nd-ranked player to accept his victory, as he had defeated his first opponent placed in the top 10.

He stated, “It’s incredible. I came on court just looking around, just trying to soak it all in and trying to process everything. I’m just trying to wake up right now.” After making it to the fourth round of a Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells in 2023, Tabilo’s victory advanced him to that stage for the second time. In addition, the 16th seed, Karen Khachanov, will be his next opponent in Rome.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Tabilo’s life struggle to stand where he is today? Do let us know in the comment section below.