Eliot Spizzirri at the US Open – from chasing girls as a fan to winning his first main trekking competition – World Tennis Magazine

By Randy Walker

@TenniisPublisher

Eliot Spizzirri is the only real Tri-State Area Tennis players who compete in the main drawing of Singles on the US Open 2025.

The indigenous son of Greenwich, Connecticut, just 25 miles from the Usta Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Spizzirri lived as a child the US open at – in particular the free qualifying rounds – where he said that he “tennis and girls chased girls.” But on the opening day of the US Open 2025, Spizzirri was not chasing girls, but balls were hit by his opponent and fellow American Stefan Dostanic who registered his first main stage competition on his home Grand Slam Tournament with a 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 win. It is the second consecutive year that the Spizzirri has played in the main drawing of the US Open, which makes its way through the qualifying rounds in 2024 with an impressive victory over Joao Fonseca in the last qualification match. In contrast to in 2024 when he felt a bit burned after the three qualifying matches in his first round main table match against Alex Michelsen, Spizziri avoided the qualifying tournament in 2025 to receive a last-minute Wildcard when the accession of the wild card brandon Holto Berrettini was erased of the Tour. Holt therefore no longer needed the Wildcard before entering, and the chance was stopped by the American tennis club to Spizziri.

“Na die drie kwalificatiewedstrijden zou ik zeggen dat ik behoorlijk vergast was, vooral na de Fonseca One,” zei Spizzirri zei over zijn open ervaring in de US 2024. “Die nam emotioneel, fysiek, fysiek uit me en dus deed ik mijn best om me voor te bereiden op die eerste ronde, maar het was een beetje in mijn hoofd dat ik veel kilometers onder mijn riem had en, emotioneel, het was veel op me. En ik denk dat je in die The first round is, perhaps in the back of my head, a little better when being a little better when being a little better when being a bit better when being a bit better when being a bit better at being a little better at the desire of being a little bit. Winning three games in the qualities, gives you pretty good about your game when you come in and you play that first round and you have nothing to lose. “

Continued Spizzirri: “I would not say that it is easier to come in as a wildcard where you have no competitions under your belt and you want to prove yourself, but they are just different positions and you treat the pressure and what every position presents itself, you just go for those emotions and pressure as good as you were the best I was good to be there.”

While Spizzirri was the last American player who knew he was a wildcard donation in the event not known three days before the draw was made for the qualifying event that he was in the main table Dostanic was the first player to know that he received a main table in the US Opening in the Usta’s Campation. The event gave a US Open Main Draw Wild Card to the winner of a tournament with four players under invited Top-American collegial players. Dostanic was the top player for Wake Forest University, who won the NCAA team championship.

Spizzirri was a striking player for the University of Texas, where he was often ranked in 2023 and 2024 as the number 1 university player in the country, although he did not win the NCAA Singles title and did not receive a main table in the US, despite his massive success game for the Longhorns. However, he was called the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Player of the Year.

Spizzirri started to learn tennis at the age of six in the Round Hill Club in Greenwich. Hij zou de US Open vaak bijwonen als een kind, maar toen hem werd gevraagd in een specifieke herinnering die hij had om een ​​​​bepaalde wedstrijd te bekijken die opviel, citeerde Spizzirri voornamelijk wedstrijden van de US Open Kwalification Rounds en de nu ‘fanweek’ door de US Tennis Association, met name een wedstrijd tussen Amerikanen Colin Altamirano en Ryne Williams, de Cousin van zijn coach van zijn coach van zijn coach van zijn Coach of his coach.

“I would come to the qualities because it was free and I could just hang around all day and choose the brains of some coaches and just watch and relax tennis,” said Spizzirri. “I have some good memories in qualifying. It was watching tennis and haunting girls. It was pretty much fun.”

Although he has lived the USTA National Tennis Center so close, Spizzirri said he is staying in a New York City hotel to reduce his stress during the tournament.

“I stayed out at home for a few days and I like to be in the city,” said Spizzirri. “It took me 17 minutes in a car to get here this morning, which, when I am driving, it can take faster than normal, but at the same time I don’t want to get a flat band or someone touches me or something, it is an unnecessary stress I can take if I can make a hotel.” Time. “

The 2025 season is his first full-time year as a professional and his ranking at the start of the US Open is no. 127. If it is able to reach the top 100 in the ATP rankings, he can continue to avoid the qualifying rounds at the Grand Slam tournaments and become a direct entry.