Former US Open boys' champion Thiago Seyboth Wild defeated No. 2 seed Casper Ruud, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, to win his first ATP Tour-level title in Santiago, Chile, this weekend.
A wild-card entry into the tournament, Seyboth Wild jumps 69 places to a new career-high of 113 and moves into second place in the qualifying race for the Next Gen ATP Finals in November.
There's no time for celebrations, however, as Seyboth Wild had a 1 a.m. flight to Australia booked for the following day. He'll play Davis Cup in Adelaide on Friday before returning home to Brazil on Monday, a day before his 20th birthday.
Here's more on the teenager, who continues to make history for Brazilian tennis.
The Thiago Seyboth Wild File
Age: 19
Birthplace: Marechal Candido Rondon, Brazil
Residence: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Current Rank: 113
Career-High Rank: 113 (March 2, 2020)
The Baseline
- Seyboth Wild began playing tennis at age 4 under the watchful eye of his father, Claudio Ricardo Wild, who manages tennis academies. "He was a player, and he's always been there for me, always helped with me anything I need," Seyboth Wild told ATPTour.com. "He's just my father. He's an idol for me and always has been one."
- The teenager won the US Open boys' title in 2018, defeating Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2. He became the second Brazilian to win a major junior title, joining Tiago Fernandes, who won the 2010 Australian Open boys' title. Seyboth Wild also reached the singles and doubles semifinals at the 2018 French Open junior competition, and in 2017, he made the boys' doubles semifinals in New York with Sebastian Baez.
- Seyboth Wild had won just two tour-level matches in his young career coming into the tournament. He defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round of the Rio Open two weeks ago and toppled Elias Ymer in the first round of an ATP 250-level event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in February 2019.
- The Brazilian won his first Challenger title in November 2019, defeating Hugo Dellien, 6-4, 6-0, at a clay-court tournament in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It is no surprise that his favorite surface is clay and that his favorite player is none other than the King of Clay himself, Rafael Nadal.
- According to the ATP, Seyboth Wild is the youngest Brazilian titlist in ATP Tour history and the first teenager to capture a tour-level title since a 19-year-old Alex de Minaur won in Sydney in 2019.
They Said It!
"It’s an incredible achievement. It's something I've always dreamed about. I need to just take the best from the week and keep on going for the rest of the season." — Thiago Seyboth Wild told ATPTour.com after his win.
