With 45 weeks in the top 100 of the world tennis: why did Varillas' career explode in 2023?

“This great rise of Varillas is due to several factors. One of them is that he knew how to define his calendar well. At the beginning of the year, in February, he decided not to participate in the Davis Cup and had a great week in Buenos Aires. He also left his comfort zone, which is the Challenger circuit, where many do not dare to make that leap. Juan Pablo decided to take a chance and it worked out very well, not only in terms of ranking, but also in terms of exposure and experience. Competing in ATP tournaments means measuring yourself against the best in the world, not only in matches but also in training. Then it was a great decision to stay with 'Chucky' Junqueira (his coach) on his team. I remember that in November 2022 he was questioned when the results were not appearing, but today we see improvements in his game. In the serve, both the first and the second, he goes to the net much better, he does it with more decision; his backhand, which is the star shot, he has also improved it. It is a series of factors that have allowed Juan Pablo to improve and it makes us believe that he has a higher ceiling," Miguel Medina assured us, from the specialized tennis account Desde La Qualy Peru (@DesdeLaQualy_pe).

On the other hand, Pablo Arraya, former Peruvian tennis player who reached 29th in the world, also spoke with Depor. "It is a year in which his preparation was very good in Argentina and he has been almost injury-free. The confidence has come due to his physical strength combined with mental concentration and the experience he has gained. Varillas has physically become a superhuman," he revealed. From now on, Juan Pablo Varillas has confirmed three tournaments in the upcoming weeks: the ATP 500 in Vienna, the Masters 1000 in Paris (both from the 'qualy') and the Challenger 75 in Lima, which will be the second tournament of the year (in the first edition, which was category 50 in August, Ecuadorian Álvaro Guillén Meza was the champion).

In the Lima 2 tournament, starting on November 6th at the Jockey Club del Perú, Varillas is the number 1 seed and the favorite to win the trophy. Among the top 100, the Argentine Federico Coria, the Colombian Daniel Galán, and the Argentine Facundo Díaz Acosta and Juan Manuel Cerúndolo are also registered. Three wild cards (invitations) are still pending, and the main candidates to receive them are Gonzalo Bueno, Ignacio Buse, and Arklon Huertas del Pino. In other words, it will be a tournament of good level where Varillas could bid farewell to the best season of his career in style.

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