SANTOS/STARNBERG, May 9, 2026

Seventeen-year-old Guto Miguel achieved another milestone in his promising career on Friday by reaching his first professional semifinal at the Santos Brasil Tennis Cup, an ATP Challenger 50 event held at the Tenis Clube de Santos. In his toughest match of the tournament so far, the Brazilian produced a composed and mature performance to defeat Lorenzo Rodriguez of Argentina 6–4, 6–4 in one hour and 26 minutes.

Backed by strong local support throughout the week, Guto once again demonstrated his growing confidence and versatility on court.

“I’m very happy to reach my first professional semifinal, especially here in Brazil where the crowd has supported me all week,” Miguel said after the match. “This result is not the product of short-term work. I trained very well these past two weeks, but what brought me here is the work we’ve been doing for a long time.”

Using powerful serving and aggressive returns, the Brazilian held every service game during the match. He earned an early break in the opening set to take a 2–1 lead, while in the second set he produced a remarkable comeback from 0–40 down to break serve for 4–3, energizing the crowd before closing out the victory moments later.

Welcome to the Guto Miguel show 🎪

The 17-year-old advances to his maiden ATP Challenger semifinal with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Rodriguez in Santos#ATPChallenger | @cbtenis pic.twitter.com/gi0HIFHyWh

— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) May 8, 2026

“It was a very competitive match,” Miguel explained. “My opponent served very well, so it was difficult to break him. In the game where I finally got the break, it was strange because I was already down 40–0. I stayed resilient and managed to turn it around. Tomorrow will be another very tough match because Casanova is an excellent player.”

The world No. 195 will now face experienced Argentine Hernan Casanova in Saturday’s semifinal. Casanova advanced after a dominant 6–2, 6–0 victory over Bolivia’s Murkel Dellien in just one hour and nine minutes. Currently ranked No. 420 in the world, the 32-year-old Argentine has reached his first ATP Challenger semifinal of the season.

Meanwhile, Matheus Pucinelli continued his strong run in Santos by reaching the semifinals for the second consecutive year. Last year’s runner-up defeated Colombia’s Miguel Tobon 6–1, 6–3 in one hour and 13 minutes and will now face Uruguay’s Franco Roncadelli for a place in the final.

“It feels great to be back in another semifinal here,” Pucinelli said. “I’m very confident right now. Winning matches in a row and serving well gives me confidence, and now I just want to keep bringing that positive energy onto the court.”

Roncadelli, the tournament’s second seed, booked his semifinal spot with a 6–3, 6–1 win over Brazil’s Joao Schiessl. The Uruguayan returns to familiar territory after reaching the semifinals in Santos last year.

“I have very good memories from Santos,” Roncadelli said. “Last year I reached my first Challenger semifinal here. Now I want to go one step further, maybe even two.”