Rods will be Djokovic’s opponent in the round of 16 at Roland Garros

A Peruvian man John Paul Varillas achieved this Friday a historic classification for Roland Garros round of 16 after defeating the Poles Hubert Hurkaczseed number 13, by 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) and 6-2. Now he will face the number 3 in the world, the Serbian Novak Djokovic.

The man from Lima became the first Peruvian tennis player in the top 16 of the clay-court Grand Slam since Jaime Yzaga in 1994 and he achieved his best participation in a Grand Slam, where until this edition of Roland Garros he did not win a match.

After coming back from two sets down in their first two matches, Varillas once again showed great determination against a tougher opponent, looking for his second consecutive round of 16 in Paris. Three victories in five sets showing his capacity for sacrifice and dedication.

In an atmosphere of fire fueled by a raucous Peru supporter who cheered for the new national hero, Varillas achieved the most important victory of his career.

The 94th in the ranking achieved his third victory against a top 20 tennis player in his entire career, showing that he is living a sweet moment since landing in Paris.

Until now, only Yzaga has played in the round of 16 in a Grand Slam.. He did it four times: in 1985 in the United States, in 1991 in Australia and in 1994 in Paris and again in the United States. in Australia in 1991 he passed that round and three years later in the United States as well.

For Varillas this is his second appearance in the final draw in Paris, where he entered for the first time last year after seven attempts to enter the qualifying phase. His performance was short, because after winning the first two sets against the Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime he lost in 5.

In the last Australian Open he entered by ranking, but he did not win the first duel against the German Alexander Zverev, also in five sets.