Peruvian champion! Juan Pablo Varillas achieved the title in the Sao Leopoldo Challenger.

The Peruvian sport added a new joy this Sunday. Juan Pablo Varillas (ATP: 119) closed his participation in the Sao Leopoldo Challenger in Brazil in the best possible way, as he managed to defeat Argentine Facundo Bagnis (ATP: 103) in the final match, with scores of 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, and 6-4, and was crowned champion after three hours and 12 minutes of play.

The performance of our national top tennis player throughout the tournament had been brilliant since the previous rounds, in which he defeated Eduardo Ribeiro (2-1), Gonzalo Lama (2-0), Daniel Dutra Da Silva (2-1), and Thiago Seyboth Wild (2-0). However, despite the results, 'Juanpi' was not the favorite in the title dispute.

Facundo Bagnis, who had extra pressure, tried to impose conditions from the first set, but the forces were very close and the match went to the tie-break. In the crucial stage, Varillas managed to overcome the two service losses he had and broke his opponent three times, declaring the 7-5 in his favor.

In the second set, the Argentine was more efficient and achieved a comfortable advantage, breaking Juan Pablo's serve once to seal the 4-6. Due to the parity, the third set was going to determine the champion in Sao Leopoldo.

During the final set, Bagnis was two points behind on the scoreboard and managed to save match point twice, although he could no longer contain 'Juanpi'. With a lot of intelligence and precision, the Peruvian tennis player did not allow his opponent to equalize: he suffered a service break, responded in the same way, and completed the 6-4 in his favor.

In this way, Juan Pablo Varillas once again obtains an ATP Challenger title after more than a year, after having done so for the last time in Santiago II (October 2021). The crown in Sao Leopoldo is the fifth in the category for the outstanding national athlete: he previously won in Campinas (Brazil, 2019), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, 2019), and Biella (Italy, 2021).