Standing. This is how the demanding French public fired the Peruvian John Paul Varillas at the Philippe-Chatrier, the center court of Roland Garros. In his debut at a Grand Slam, the Peruvian tennis player came out with his head held high and with the feeling that at 26 years of age the time has come to hit the ATP circuit.
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It was a five-set loss to No. 9 ranked Felix Auger-Aliassine, but there’s plenty to hold on to. Of those first two brilliant sets that he won by double 6-2, of that second wind in the fifth set to fight until 3-3 once morest a tennis player called to be one of the successors of the ‘Big 3’, of that claw that he shows the Peruvian who did not show on the field that he is a tennis player who is more than a hundred places below his rival.
The score of 6-2, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6 and 3-6 tells us regarding a Juan Pablo with tennis to fight on the ATP circuit. He has already matched Diego Scharzmann in Tokyo 2020, battled with Benoit Paire in an ATP 500 in Hamburg and yesterday he demonstrated it on the same central court at Roland Garros. “That the 9 in the world has to play at his best level says a lot regarding the match”explains Tupi Venero, today captain of the Peruvian Davis Cup team. And so Varillas himself felt. “It’s a way to show me that I have the level to play this type of tournament and climb the ranking”assured for the portal Tenis al Máximo.
It is that the first two sets were wonderful and aroused the illusion of the Peruvian public, of those who were in the stands and of those who got up early in our country to watch the match, but maintaining that rhythm was difficult for them. “Maintaining that speed is difficult, even more so when you are not used to it. Running everything to that Canadian who is powerful and aggressive is complicated. It was only in the fifth set that Juan Pablo caught a second wind, but Auger-Aliassime put a lot of pressure on his return”adds Tupi.
Cheered on Center Court
This is also how Juan Diego Llosas, a tennis specialist, sees it. “Winning both sets was a new situation for me. Juan Pablo and something Auger-Aliassime is used to. Rods began to be imprecise and the Canadian found the goals for him ”he tells us.
For the journalist, the change occurred in the game of number 9 in the ranking. “He took a step forward, stood closer to the line and started being more aggressive. Rods had less time to get to the balls “, tells us. In the first two sets “the game was deeper, longer points,” she says.
The change occurred for the third set. “Félix raised his level and that unsettles Juan Pablo. There the fact that he is beginning to compete in the elite was noticed ”says Gonzalo Sobrevilla, a tennis fan who was at the Philippe-Chatrier encouraging Varillas.
“The experience he has was noticeable and I fell a bit in intensity”Juan Pablo Varillas himself accepted in contact with the press in Roland Garros. “At some point he was going to raise his level because playing five sets is very long. I tried to take it to the limit and the fifth set was there, in details.concluded the Peruvian tennis player.
What no one disputes is the claw with which he played John Paul Varillas. “That is very clear. Juanpi’s dream was to play Roland Garros and on that center court. Her attitude never negotiated it ”; Juan Diego tells us. “Nothing to blame. He has the tennis to continue playing these types of tournaments”adds Gonzalo. “All the time he fought, with many weapons”sentence Tupi.
Despite the defeat, it was a good presentation by rods. In Roland Garros y in Philippe-Chatrier. “You never forget this”he assures and the Peruvian public applauds him.