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The Peruvian flag will wave at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of 2023. Juan Pablo Varillas reached the third round of the tournament's qualifiers, and despite things not going according to plan: he lost to Yosuke Watanuki, he managed to qualify for the main draw thanks to the lucky loser draw.
In the first set, the Peruvian top seed appeared rushed and inaccurate. Confusion that was taken advantage of by Yosuke Watanuki to control the outcome and despite Varillas attempting to react, the Japanese player won (6-3).
For the second set, the situation didn't change for the Peruvian: the Asian player took control again with a strong serve. 'Juanpa' tried to react and cause damage, but his efforts were in vain when in the seventh game, Watunuki broke his serve with an ace (3-4). This was decisive for the Japanese player to take the match, which ended (6-3, 6-4) in his favor.
However, this defeat did not end our compatriot's chances, as his position in the ATP rankings (104) opened up a chance for him to occupy the 'Lucky Loser' spot, and after a draw, the organizers announced his qualification.
Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (1st) was eliminated in the second round, Italian Marcos Cecchinato (2nd) retired in the first round, Romanian Albot (3rd) was eliminated in the first round, and Ecuadorian Emilio Gómez (4th) was eliminated in the second round. So the highest seeded player in the third round was the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas.
There are 16 players who qualify through the qualifiers and two more as lucky losers. These last two spots are determined by a draw among four players and Varillas is one of them, so he has a 50% chance.
Now, Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas will compete in his second Grand Slam main draw and will face Alexander Zverev, ranked 13th in the ATP rankings, on Sunday, January 15th. The German player returned to the circuit after recovering from a tough injury suffered in the semifinals of the 2022 Roland Garros, and it is worth noting that he became the Olympic champion in Tokyo 2021.
What is the 'lucky loser' that favored Varillas?
The ATP circuit uses this format in the major tennis tournaments (Grand Slam) so that athletes who have been eliminated in the qualifying stage of the tournament, but - despite that - have a good ranking, can still be considered to advance to the main draw.
"There are two 'Lucky Losers'. The draw is made among the top four ranked players who did not manage to qualify for the main draw, and two of them are chosen to enter in place of Cilic and Balazs," explains Manuel Cabezas, a tennis specialist who followed Juan Pablo Varillas' match live on Peruvian television.
In other words, the lucky ones, like 'Juanpa' who was chosen in a draw, will be responsible for replacing players who are unable to participate in the tournament due to injury or any other last-minute reason.
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