SAN MARINO/STARNBERG, July 30, 2026
Francesco Maestrelli‘s run at the Internazionali di Tennis San Marino Open came to an end on Thursday after the Italian eighth seed suffered a hard-fought 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 defeat to Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas in the second round of the ATP Challenger 125 tournament.
After three hours and 26 minutes on Centre Court, the former World No. 60 sealed his place in the quarterfinals, extending his impressive run from the qualifying draw.
Maestrelli faced early pressure on serve before recovering from a break down in the opening set to force a tie-break. The Italian held a set point at 6-5 but missed with a forehand, allowing Varillas to take control of the breaker and eventually claim the opener after 90 minutes.
The 23-year-old from Pisa responded immediately, breaking early in the second set and maintaining his advantage despite missing additional break opportunities and saving two consecutive break points to level the match.
Varillas, however, regained the initiative at the start of the deciding set. The 30-year-old built a 5-2 lead after securing two breaks of serve. Although Maestrelli saved two match points and briefly threatened a comeback, the Peruvian converted his third opportunity with a forehand swing volley to book his place in the last eight.
Warrior mode ⚔️
After 3 hours and 26 minutes, Juan Pablo Varillas battles past Maestrelli 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals in San Marino#ATPChallenger | @jpvarillas pic.twitter.com/7igQgOigvV
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) July 30, 2026
Varillas will next face Timofey Skatov, who continued his strong recent form by upsetting second seed Otto Virtanen 6-2, 6-4. The Kazakh, a semifinalist in Perugia earlier this season, capitalized on an error-filled performance from the Finnish world No. 115, who arrived in San Marino after finishing runner-up at the Tampere Open.
Third seed Vilius Gaubas also progressed comfortably, defeating Argentina’s Genaro Alberto Olivieri while dropping just five games. The Lithuanian avenged his three-set loss to Olivieri at last year’s Seville Challenger and will face the winner of the all-important clash between sixth seed Andrea Pellegrino and Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro.
Elsewhere in the quarterfinals, top seed Facundo Diaz Acosta takes on Bolivia’s Juan Carlos Prado Angelo, while defending champion Alexandre Muller meets Croatian qualifier Mili Poljicak.
THURSDAY RESULTS
Singles – Second Round
Juan Pablo Varillas (Per, Q) def. Francesco Maestrelli (Ita, 8) 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3
Timofey Skatov (Kaz) def. Otto Virtanen (Fin, 2) 6-2, 6-4
Vilius Gaubas (LTU, 3) def. Genaro Alberto Olivieri (Arg) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles – Quarterfinals
Thijmen Loof / Kaito Uesugi (NED/JPN) def. Filippo Romano / Jacopo Vasamì (ITA, WC) 3-6, 6-1, 10-3
Arthur Reymond / Luca Sanchez (FRA) def. Petr Nouza / Neil Oberleitner (CZE/AUT, 1) 6-7(2), 6-1, 10-8
Stefan Latinovic / Mili Poljicak (SRB/CRO) def. Filip Duda / Michael Vrbensky (CZE) 6-3, 6-4
Piotr Matuszewski / Filip Pieczonka (POL) def. Luke Johnson / Bart Stevens (GBR/NED, 2) 6-4, 6-4
