Player Features

Gigante on idolising Nadal, hitting with Djokovic & an Indian Wells breakthrough

Matteo Gigante will play the biggest match of his life on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open when he takes on 2022 champion Taylor Fritz. It will be a big moment for the No. 217 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who had only played one tour-level match on hard court entering the tournament.

“It's amazing emotions. I'm really happy,” Gigante told ATPTour.com. “It's my first win ATP on hard court, and it's my second win ATP. The first was the last year in Rome against my good friend Giulio Zeppieri, so it's funny that I have two wins ATP, and they are only in the Masters 1000s, so this is amazing.”

The Italian has dreamt of competing on the world’s biggest stages since his earliest days in tennis, following his grandfather to local courts to watch his cousins play. Throughout his childhood, Gigante attended another ATP Masters 1000 event, the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

“When I was younger, I was going to the Foro Italico to see all of the matches and Rafa,” Gigante said, referring to fellow lefty Rafael Nadal. “I saw Rafa in every match.”

In 2019, when Gigante was 17, he took a photo with the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings and his coach, Marco Gulisano.

“I’m lefty. He has a big charisma, so for me, it's my idol. When I was younger, I always bought the t-shirt, the pants of Rafa,” Gigante said. “When I was watching him, the next days in training, I imitated Rafa always.”

That made for an interesting moment ahead of the 2021 Rome final, in which Nadal played Novak Djokovic. The Serbian needed a lefty to warm up with, and Gigante fulfilled that need.

“I played with Novak in the centre court before the final, Novak against Rafa. It was so, so fun. It was so special, and he was so concentrated, because, for sure, it was a final,” Gigante said. “But Novak is a really good guy, and the numbers [show] Novak is the number one.”

Nadal won the match in three sets and three years later, Gigante competed in the Rome main draw himself for the first time.

One of the Italian’s closest friends, Flavio Cobolli, has helped show Gigante what is possible, climbing as high as World No. 30. Gigante ascended to a career-high No. 132 last year.

“The first time I met Flavio was maybe when we were five or six years old in little tournaments in Rome. So a long, long time ago,” Gigante said. “We have a lot of pictures pretty young and now. Flavio is the same person, like always. For me, it's a brother.”

The next goal for the Italian is to reach the world’s Top 100. But for now, he hopes to keep his Indian Wells dream run alive against Fritz.

“I’m so excited,” Gigante said. “Now I'm resting today and from tomorrow, I will stay concentrated and focus for the next round.”