CHENNAI: Born in New York. Grew up in the Dominican Republic. Spent his teenage years in London. Graduated in California. So, it's perhaps not a surprise that Nicolas Moreno de Alboran, who stands between Sumit Nagal and the final at the Chennai Open, opted to pursue International Studies at the college level.
What could be termed as a surprise is the way De Alboran, ranked 219 in the world, became a professional tennis player. He pursued it as a pastime in the Dominican Republic — his parents took him there as his mother, a documentary photographer, moved base to study the migration of Haitians to the country. After the family moved to London to be close to his older brother who joined a boarding school there, De Alboran started to take it more seriously. However, he continued to dabble in other sports including cricket.
"I used to play cricket in England," he says. "Unfortunately, I wasn't good enough."
While he did take to tennis, he didn't have a conventional route to the sport (he missed most of the junior circuit). That changed when he joined Santa Barbara in California. The NCAA is famed for producing players and it's not a surprise to hear the 25-year-old sing its praises. "NCAA is a great place to play a lot of tennis. It's like living in an Academy," he says.
"You are always playing against players at your level, you are meeting every weekend. At the same time, you are getting a degree. Going to college was very important for me because I got to play in a lot of tournaments every weekend. For somebody who hadn't played a lot of junior tournaments, these matches were very important."
After graduating in 2019, some four years after deciding tennis was going to be his thing, he began his grind. By then, he had already picked up a few ATP points. A series of ITF World Tour events followed sandwiched by Covid. His first big break, a run to the semifinal at a Challenger in Spain in July 2021, meant he broke the top-350 barrier. A first trip to the big time, US Open, followed; even otherwise he had progressed from Futures to Challengers. Last September, he capped off a solid year with a first title at that level in Braga, Portugal.
He hopes Chennai will give him a second. "It's my first time to India and the conditions are suiting me well because I grew up in the Dominican Republic which is also hot and humid. The target for the year is top-100."
At over 6 foot and the right physique, Alboran, who took out Yasutaka Uchiyama on Friday, possesses the game to break that barrier. His serve is big enough and he also has the power-hitting game from the baseline that's prevalent at the top level (considering he dabbled in sports like sailing during his earlier days, one can see where he gets his power from).
He also name-checks the likes of Dominic Thiem as somebody he likes 'because of the big forehand he has'.That's one thing, Nagal, aiming to become the first Indian finalist at this level since Prajnesh Gunneswaran (2022 Monterrey in March), should watch for.
Results (Q/Fs): Max Purcell bt James Duckworth 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; Nicolas Alboran bt Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-3, 6-4; Nagal bt Jay Clarke 6-1, 6-4; Dane Sweeny bt Arthur Cazaux 6-7 (5), 7-6 (9), 6-3.