The center court of the Tenis Clube de Santos witnessed another successful day for Brazilian tennis on Thursday, as Joao Schiessl, Matheus Pucinelli and Guto Miguel all secured places in the quarterfinals of the Santos Brasil Tennis Cup, an ATP Challenger 50 event. The tournament continues on Friday with matches starting at 1 p.m., including the doubles semifinal on center court.

Joao Schiessl continued his impressive run in Santos by defeating US-American Ryan Dickerson 6–3, 6–2 to reach his first quarterfinal of the season. With the victory, the 21-year-old is projected to achieve a career-high ATP ranking of No. 420.

Despite dealing with wrist pain, Schiessl produced a confident performance and will now face second seed Franco Roncadelli of Uruguay in the second match on Court 1.

“I’m happy with how I played in the important moments and how I took my chances today,” Schiessl said. “I didn’t start very well, but I managed to recover and stayed aggressive throughout the match. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this tournament because I decided to come at the last minute, but now I can say it was the right decision.”

Shortly afterward, Matheus Pucinelli also advanced with a straight-sets win over Argentina’s Valerio Aboian, 6–3, 6–2. Last year’s runner-up in Santos will now face Colombia’s Miguel Tobon for a place in the semifinals.

Pucinelli emphasized the importance of regaining confidence after spending two months sidelined with a stress fracture in his tibia.

“It was a good match against an opponent who fights for every point,” Pucinelli explained. “I started very well, then lost some intensity, but managed to recover. Being away for two months was difficult, but now I’m only thinking positively. I really missed competing, and I’m happy to feel that I’m playing well again.”

The highlight of the evening came from 17-year-old Guto Miguel, currently ranked No. 2 in the ITF junior world rankings. Playing in front of a packed crowd, the Brazilian defeated Argentina’s Juan Manuel La Serna 6–4, 6–2 in 1 hour and 33 minutes to reach the first professional quarterfinal of his career.

Guto started aggressively, opening an early lead before La Serna fought back to make the opening set competitive. However, the Brazilian maintained his composure in key moments and used strong serving sequences to close out the set 6–4. In the second set, he once again established control early and never looked back, sealing the victory with a dominant 6–2 finish.

“The score doesn’t fully reflect how difficult the match was,” Guto said afterward. “I wasn’t feeling 100 percent physically, but I was still playing at a good level. I had chances to close the first set more comfortably, but I stayed mentally strong and I’m very happy with this win. The tournament isn’t over yet, and there’s still much more to come.”

The teenager credited his long-time coaching team for his development and breakthrough results.

“This is the result of a lot of work from me and my team,” he added. “I’ve been working with them for three and a half years, and I’m grateful they believed in the process. We’re now living the process we always dreamed about.”

Guto Miguel will return to court on Friday to face Argentina’s Lorenzo Rodriguez for a place in the semifinals. Later in the day, he will also compete in doubles alongside his brother Felipe Miguel against Valerio Aboian and Bolivia’s Murkel Dellien, with a spot in the doubles semifinals on the line.