Ashburton tennis teen star Diego Quispe-Kim unleashes during a training session this week. Photos Adam BurnsIf you haven’t already, make note of the name Diego Quispe-Kim.

The Mid Canterbury tennis sensation has continued an inevitable ascent to the top, as he settles in to a grind of winter training on the court.

However the plaudits have not stopped flowing, with the teen named Outstanding Junior Sportsperson at the Mid Canterbury Sports Awards earlier this month.

“It felt very special because of the koru as the trophy,” he said.

It is the latest in a long list of accomplishments as the 14-year-old has emerged as the best in the country for his age.

He was a New Zealand representative at the World Junior Teams event in Malaysia and was also named in the under-17 Canterbury team.

Winning has become an infectious habit for Quispe-Kim.

Over the past year he has had several tournament wins, both in New Zealand and abroad, including standout tournament wins at the 2019 Rod Laver Championship under-14 event and the Kiwi Indoor Junior Championship.

“I only lost six games in the whole tournament (Kiwi Indoor Junior Championships),” he said.

“I didn’t drop a set.”

Over a two-week stretch in July, Quispe-Kim won both the Rod Laver under-14 singles after also clinching the lead-in event in Australia over some of the best junior players in the Asia-Pacific region.

Due to Covid-19, Quispe-Kim won’t get an opportunity to replicate his feats across the Tasman this year.

He is targeting both the under-18 National Junior Championships in December and next year’s Junior Davis Cup.

He says training alongside his father and longtime coach Juan Quispe-Chavez has equally fostered his love for playing the game alongside collecting the silverware.

It also helps being a self-described “competitive” sport-loving teenager to help drive him towards success.

Originally from Christchurch, he first tried his hand at the sport by the age of three by virtue of a family friend.

As he hones his skill set under the helm of Tennis New Zealand’s high performance department, his results indicate a lethal all-round game which has left many opponents floundering in his wake.

He feels his forehand is a key aspect of his arsenal after years of watching Spanish superstar and fellow left-hander Rafael Nadal and Argentine grand slam winner Juan Martín del Potro.

“I mostly stay on the baseline, that’s where I feel most comfortable,” he said.

“I like Juan Martin del Potro because of his big forehand, and he’s from South America like my dad.”

Quispe-Kim’s father is originally from Peru, while his mother hails from South Korea.

He acknowledges that his volleys are one area of his game where he wanted to focus on.

“I don’t practice volleys too much.

“But you need to volley a lot, especially if you want to finish points off easily in a game.

“You just have to keep training; train, train, train and stay positive.”

It is an approach which has reaped rewards for the Mid Canterbury prodigy as he climbs towards a professional tennis dream.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 26 June 2020