Paraguayan tennis player Daniel Vallejo advanced to the quarterfinals of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships on Saturday, October 3, 2026, defeating former world No. 6 Matteo Berrettini 7-6(6), 6-1 at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo. According to atptour.com, the victory in this ATP 500 hard-court tournament propels the 22-year-old to No. 51 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, leaving him just outside the world top 50.
Vallejo Overcomes Berrettini in Straight Sets
Vallejo secured his spot in the last eight by battling through a tense first-set tiebreak before dominating the second frame against Berrettini. As reported by latribuna.com.py, the Paraguayan saved four set points in the opening set, overcoming a 3/6 deficit in the tiebreak to clinch it 8-6 in an hour and 48 minutes of total play. abc.com.py noted that the match lasted 1 hour and 46 minutes, with Vallejo converting key points under pressure. The triumph marked Vallejo’s second victory over a top-50 opponent this week in Tokyo, following his opening-round win against Spanish #NextGenATP player Rafael Jódar. Vallejo played based on a potent and influential first serve with a 79% performance, and there were no breaks in the entire match until the second set, where he secured two timely breaks to go 5-0 up before Berrettini made it 40-30 on his serve in the sixth game.
Climbing the PIF ATP Live Rankings Toward the Top 50
The quarterfinal run elevates Vallejo to No. 51 in the live rankings, surpassing the previous historic benchmark set by compatriot Ramón Delgado, who reached No. 52 on April 26, 1999, as detailed by latribuna.com.py. Vallejo now stands after Víctor Pecci as the second best tennis player born in Paraguay. Infobae.com reported that Vallejo entered the season ranked No. 143 and officially held the No. 56 spot entering the Tokyo event. A further victory in Japan would push him inside the top 50 for the first time in his career. In February, he also cut a drought of nearly 16 years without Paraguayan victories in main draws of ATP tournaments by winning a match at the Santiago tournament.
Vallejo Wins Qualifying Matches to Reach Tokyo Main Draw
Vallejo’s Tokyo campaign began in the qualifying rounds at the Ariake Coliseum. D10 reported that the Paraguayan number one defeated Japanese player Taro Daniel 6-3, 6-2 and subsequently overcame Portugal’s Jaime Faria 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 to earn his main-draw berth. In the first round proper, he dispatched Rafael Jódar 6-1, 6-3, who entered as the 13th-ranked player in the world and the best Spanish player after Carlos Alcaraz. In the 2025 season, despite playing no ATP Tour main draws and only playing qualifications at the Australian Open and Santiago, he claimed Challenger titles in Curitiba and Guayaquil, reached finals in Buenos Aires and Costa do Sauipe, and conquered M25 titles in Punta del Este, Mar del Plata, and Londrina.
Quarterfinal Match Against Jiri Lehecka
Vallejo will face Czech player Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, October 4, 2026, in the quarterfinals at the Ariake Colosseum. Lehecka advanced by defeating Frenchman Ugo Humbert 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the final match of the Saturday session, according to atptour.com and abc.com.py. Latribuna.com.py confirmed that there are no previous head-to-head encounters between Vallejo and the 24-year-old Czech, who is the current world No. 23 and reached a career-high ranking inside the top 12 in the last week of May 2026.
Keep reading
