Juan Pablo Varillas | “He is already one of the 5 best in history” and “he can get into the top 50 ″: the analysis of the Peruvian tennis player’s dream come true at Roland Garros | SPORT-TOTAL

MIRA: “I really want to be able to play and being at the Centenario de la ‘U’ would be a dream”

At 27 years old, Juan Pablo Varillas’ career has taken off and after qualifying for the fourth round of the French Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic, the Peruvian will have better opportunities in his career as a tennis player: today he is ranked 64th. ATP.

El Comercio conducted a survey of tennis specialists to analyze the present of Juan Pablo Varillas after his great performance at Roland Garros.

1.- How to measure this historic participation of Varillas in Roland Garros?

2.- Where is Varillas in the history of Peruvian tennis?

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Erick Garay – The Police

1. At 27 years old, Juan Pablo Varillas is already in the group of best Peruvian tennis players in history. There are important statistical data such as that after 29 years a Peruvian will play in the round of 16 singles at Roland Garros (the last to do so was Jaime Yzaga in 1994 and Luis Horna won the doubles title in 2008), but I would like to go further and highlight the story behind his great performance.

2. Juanpi is the faithful paradigm of a Peruvian athlete who has traced his path based on his own efforts and that of his family. He did not let the lack of support stop his dreams and what he is achieving today is due to him and the team that surrounds him. With talent and discipline, he is taking advantage of the opportunities that he himself has sought.

Américo Tupi Venero – Former Peruvian Davis Cup tennis player

1. It really is historic, since we haven’t had a player for many years, I think since the time of Jaime Yzaga, I don’t know if Luis Horna made it to the round of 16, but it is spectacular that a Peruvian player is in that instance. I am very happy not only for Peruvian tennis, but for Juan Pablo, because I know what it has cost him to be there, I am a front-row witness and see all the development and process that he has had to undergo during all these years. In his favor, to say that it is a reward for his perseverance, talent, effort and potential, I think that one more example that it is possible to have players at that level and that they need support, above all to believe in the project, because many they are truncated in half, because they are cut for a bad result and the project is not believed. I believe that this is the key to believing in the project and in the athletes who have the potential and, above all, believing in the players who work like him. I think that all Peruvians should be proud of Juan Pablo Varillas.

2. There is still a little more to go, because players like Jaime and Luis were among the 50 best in the world for a long time and that is what they need to start to be. If he succeeds, I think he has all the potential in the world and the perfect age to play five more years and be among the 50 in the world, and thus be able to sit at the table with Jaime Yzaga and Luis Horna, who was also lucky. to watch them play and develop.

Yeltsin Ramírez – Peruvian Tennis Journalist

1. Although it is true, now he is positioning himself where that batch of Jaime Yzaga, Luis Horna or Pablo Arraya is, Juan Pablo Varillas is on his way to power, little by little to be his history in Peruvian tennis, where he has already been winning three matches in the Grand Slam and if he continues to win at Roland Garros or in the other Slams or tournaments to come, but you have to be very patient and measured, since he has to burn stages, he is in a process of change between ATP Challenger and now Roland Garros dispute, for this reason, you have to have a lot of patience and empathy, since he is showing that he can do much more and fight with anyone inch by inch.

Ricardo Montoya – Journalist

1. With this, he is definitely among the five best Peruvian tennis players in history, yes, the story says that it will be 64, it is good, but it will be inferior to that of Pablo Arraya, Jaime Yzaga or Luis Horna, this campaign is admirable. In addition, neither Horna and Yzaga managed to get into the fourth round of Roland Garros. This campaign is admirable that neither Horna nor Arraya reached the fourth round

2. What is sad is that Juan Pablo Varillas is a 27-year-old player, that is, we can expect him to grow a little more, but let’s think that he will be a top 20 player. In addition, he is a player fundamentally of one type of court, however, what Varillas can do is sow so that others who come from behind want to imitate him and be an example, that is the value that Varillas has, apart from the illusion he gave us.

Luis Carrillo Pinto – Journalist

1. If we have to dimension this participation of Varillas in the Roland Garros 2023, we can say that it is the great takeoff that he has had in his career. He had four participations in the Master1000 this year, which were very important tournaments to see at what level he was in the event against the best in the world. In all he lost in the first round: Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome. So, it seemed that he did not arrive at Roland Garros with the best level or with the best confidence in order to have a rematch, because last year in his first participation against the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime, he was winning 2-0 and ended up losing the match 3-2 in the first round, therefore, he had a rematch in between. ‘Juanpi’, throughout the first five months of the year he has played in a spectacular way, especially the first two months, the match he has with Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open, is one of the best matches of the year and thus agrees his coach Diego Junqueira and then he had semifinals at the Argentina Open, which reflects that he has been making very good participations, however, this one at Roland Garros exceeds any participation he has previously had due to the way he won the matches, always five sets, recovering and playing fantastically the last three.

2. Varillas has improved his game a lot, he is much more consistent, with a two-handed backhand, which is one of his main weapons when the first serve comes in, it is very effective, Luis Horna had a good serve, but he from Varillas is better, He is 1.85 cm tall, has a good build, has everything to get into the Top 50. Now, he will be in 60th place in the ranking, so he already speaks to you of a player from another category who can play any tournament in the world for you. Today he no longer has limitations, if we are going to mention something, we must think about what is coming for Juan Pablo Varillas in the future, since he will play all the tournaments he wants, he will no longer have to play any qualy, surely, Challenger will no longer play, I don’t think, because he will have so many invitations to play the most important tournaments of the ATP tournaments that are played every week, he will have a revenge against Novak Djokovic, because he will find it somewhere else tournament. Juan Pablo gets into the best four of Peruvian tennis, be careful, here we are not considering Olmedo, who would be number one, since he became an American national, in the first place for Jaime Yzaga, who reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, and also, at the US Open, that time he beat Pete Sampras in 1994. Then there is Pablo Arraya who managed to be in 30th place along with Luis Horna, because he was the doubles champion at Roland Garros in 2008 with Pablo Cuevas. Then comes Juan Pablo Varillas with this performance, but the difference is that he has 3 or 4 years of career, unlike Novak Djokovic who is 36 years old and will have a maximum year of career left. There are still years left to enjoy a Juan Pablo with confidence and measuring himself against the best in the world. What is coming in the coming years is going to be beautiful for Peruvian tennis and it still has a few years to improve. It will take a lot of effort to overcome what his predecessors have done, such as Pablo Arraya, who was Davis Cup captain, and Luis Horna, who is his manager -in Spanish, his career manager and directs him in the Cup. Davis-. Rods is an amazing guy, very humble and he is a great person. He is a great champion.

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