Peruvian tennis player Juan Pablo Varillas said he was disappointed after losing in the round of 16 at Roland Garros against Serbian Novak Djokovic.
Despite the bad taste in his mouth that the elimination left him, Varillas assured that his performance was “unexpected” and that it will help him grow as a tennis player.
At Roland Garros, the native of Lima achieved his first victories in a Grand Prix, but found himself on the way to a Djokovic, who intends to get his third crown in Paris, and who seems to be quite close after the absence of Rafa Nadal.
“To win you have to be one hundred percent physically and mentally and I think I lacked some freshness,” said Varillas who lost 6-3, 6-2 and 6-2.
The Peruvian came into the match with a charge of 15 sets in five days, and managed to come back from 2-0 twice, spending more than 11 hours on court.
This represented a great fatigue for Varillas that did not allow him to stand up in a better way against Djokovic.
“I couldn’t play the way I wanted. At no time was I able to completely let go, physically I was not 100 percent,” said the man from Lima.
“All the credit belongs to him, but I have nothing to reproach myself with, I would have liked to compete better, with more energy, with more freshness. But I’ve played 17 sets in five days and that takes its toll against someone who doesn’t give you a breather,” he added.
Despite this, Varillas leaves confident that he gave his all, and that he enjoyed every match at Roland Garros, which helped him gain experience.
“It has been an incredible few days for me, a completely new experience that I did not expect and that no one on my team expected.”
With information from EFE.
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