Juan Pablo Varillas lost to Albert Ramos Viñolas in the ATP quarterfinals.
What started as a dream ended in a nightmare. Juan Pablo Varillas, who is still excited to win an ATP title soon, was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 in Gstaad (Switzerland), at the hands of the Spanish Albert Ramos-Viñolas (79th in the ranking).
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Everything had started perfect for ‘Juanpi’ in the Swiss tournament. In his debut, he left the Finn Otto Virtanen on the road very easily and then he did the same against the Argentine Facundo Bagnis, to whom he only lost three sets in the entire match.
The expectations, then, rose to the top for the number one racket of Peru in the land where Roger Federer was born. However, his high motivation and his good timing were not enough to continue on the victorious path. This Friday, Varillas suffered a severe setback that left him out of the competition and once again deprived him of an ATP title.
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That great objective was frustrated -again- after falling in three sets against Albert Ramos-Viñolas, who did not give up in two hours and forty minutes of play. Although the Peruvian had a more positive start to the match than his rival, after winning the first set 7-6 in an intense tie break, the Spaniard was able to come back with a great performance, taking the second and third sets 1-6 and 4-6 respectively.
Juan Pablo Varillas won the first set in a tie break (ATP Tour)
In the final set, ‘Juanpi’ failed to recover from the break he suffered at the beginning and, although he managed to save two important ‘match points’, he could do little to get on top. Ramos-Vinolas knew how to contain him at all times. Especially at the end, when the Peruvian tried to react.
From the previous match, it was known that Juan Pablo Varillas was not going to have an easy time in these quarterfinals. He has always had a hard time beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas on the circuit and this time was no exception. Once again, the Spaniard knew how to stand up to him and beat him on clay.
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In heads-up, both had starred in four duels before this Friday. Curiously, Ramos-Viñolas emerged victorious in three of those direct matches and ‘Juanpi’ only in one. Now, said record between the two worsens for the Peruvian with the recent defeat in Switzerland (4-1).
Of course, it must be taken into account that although Ramos-Viñolas (79th) today has a worse ranking than Varillas (66th), in recent years he has been used to being part of the Top 50. In addition, his highest position in the ranking was 17th, a fact he achieved in 2017. The Peruvian, for his part, still does not go beyond 60th position, although he has the potential to reach higher.
Juan Pablo was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Gstaad ATP (ATP Tour)
For these reasons, it was quite difficult for ‘Juanpi’ to get a place in the Gstaad ATP semifinals. The Spanish has been a tough rival to crack. And is not for less. Thus, the Peruvian loses an opportunity to place an ATP title in his showcase again. But there are many more tournaments ahead. Giving up is not an option for him. No doubt he will keep trying.
Ramos-Vinolas, for his part, will continue his journey in the Swiss championship. In the semifinals of the tournament he will have to face none other than Serbian Miomir Kecmanović (44th), who recently beat Belgian Zizou Bergs (175th) in three sets of the previous round (6-4, 3-6, 7-5). This duel promises a lot.
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2023-07-21 23:56:52
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