At 29 years of age Luca Vanni is finally finding some success on the ATP Tour. And he’s got a few fans now, too.
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The Italian, who has seen his career play out primarily on the Futures and Challenger circuit for the last five years, notched his first ATP victory after qualifying for the Brasil Open this week. The event was cause for celebration, and the ATP chronicled the event by taking a slightly strange video of Vanni shirtless in the locker room. In it Vanni introduces himself (which is good, because most had never heard of him until this week) and informs the public that he’s received 46 WhatsApp messages as a result.
After today’s 7-6(5), 7-6(4) victory over Dusan Lajovic, Vanni reports (wearing a shirt this time) that he’s received 150 messages after reaching his first ATP semifinal. It’s anybody’s guess how many messages Vanni will receive on Saturday if he manages to defeat Joao Souza of Brazil, but it’s safe to assume that his phone will be warm.
Vanni has had a great deal of success on the Futures tour (he won seven titles last season, which was his best season to date), but not so much on the Challenger circuit, and when it comes to tour-level matches, well, the Italian will play his fifth tomorrow.
But it’s hard not to smile about Vanni’s success this week, however fleeting it may turn out to be. He received a bye in the first round when top-seeded Feliciano Lopez withdrew due to injury, and the rest has been the stuff of dreams.
Vanni's success sends a nice message to late bloomers and hard workers: Bide your time, embrace the sport, and good things will happen! It may not be true for all, but hey, we all need something to shoot for, right?
“I feel good; it’s a dream,” said Vanni. “I won my second match on the ATP and now I’m here with the top players… I think I will be Top 100 if I play like this.”
Photo Source: Brasil Open