Marcos Giron continues late-career renaissance on clay in Rome

ROME, Italy—Marcos Giron is out to defy the stereotype about American tennis players on clay, returning to the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’italia with a second career Top 5 win over Taylor Fritz.

“I honestly have probably the most fun playing on clay,” Giron said after beating fellow American Taylor Fritz, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3). “There’s the sliding, the drop shots. It’s different than a little bit more of, of course there’s still tactics on hard courts, but on there, it’s a lot more of first ball, boom, get it open court and put the pressure on.

“Sometimes on clay, you have to let it come to you as opposed to just forcing it.”

Like most Americans, Giron wasn’t initially drawn to the European red clay, but at 31 years old, the Thousand Oaks, California native has adopted the surface as his own, knocking out Mutua Madird Open quarterfinalist Gabriel Diallo before scoring only his second win over Fritz—and his first since 2022.

“It’s a little different because I still think there’s a lot of winners to be hit on clay,” said Giron, a former No. 37 on the brink of returning to the Top 40. “It’s just not as much like, ‘Ok, ball on the rise, let me smoke this line and it’s over.’ There’s a lot more of, ‘Here’s your one chance, can you take that chance and hit it well with the guy maybe not expecting it?’

“There are these little micro-opportunities that are kind of there. Again, there’s still a strong need to be very aggressive-minded, or else it’s easy to get pushed back and on defense. When you’re playing a guy who really knows what he’s doing on clay, it’s a slow death.”

Helping him feel even more at home is the depth of support Giron has felt from friends and family at the Foro Italico.

The game keeps kind of evolving, and if we as players don’t keep building and growing, the other guys will figure you out. You either kind of keep building or slowly fade away. Marcos Giron

“My dad and some of my cousins are here, so I’ve actually got a lot of family here, which is pretty cool. Obviously Max [Tabatruong], my coach here, we get along great. His girlfriend is here, so we’ve got a big crew. I also have one of my friends, he lives here in Rome. It’s kind of cool.

“I just kind of enjoy being here; the people here are awesome. They’re super passionate. Obviously, the food is a joke, and just walking around, you see so much amazing history.”

FLASHBACK: Giron reflects on 2022 season in exclusive interview

Though this year marks Giron’s fourth main-draw appearance in Rome, things still feel new for a player who spent most of his 20s dealing with chronic hip issues. Becoming a Top 100 mainstay by 2021, Giron is still looking for that next big breakthrough, but between a Top 5 victory at the BNP Paribas Open—where he beat Casper Ruud—and another here against Fritz, he may be on the verge of finding it.

“I think, in part, there’s a belief from seeing a lot of guys who played longer and later,” mused Giron. “At least, for me, there’s a belief that, yeah, I’m 31, but I can play for longer. I think it’s having that kind of mindset versus if I’m 29 and thinking, ‘Man, I’m done.’

“I think each guy is different, maybe, but I do think as someone who was a late bloomer, I know this can be gone so fast, so I need to make the most of my opportunities. It’s tough, it’s relentless. The sport has so many tournaments, it’s easy to get lost and not enjoying really how special this is. The game keeps kind of evolving, and if we as players don’t keep building and growing, the other guys will figure you out. You either kind of keep building or slowly fade away.”

Giron will look to keep building against No. 30 seed—and former world No. 6—Hubert Hurkacz; a win would earn him his second Masters 1000 fourth round of the season and, in defiance of that pesky stereotype, his first on clay.