The former national tennis player referred to the series that the two-color quintet will have against the Nordics and what are the possibilities of winning and returning to the Davis Qualifiers. For Pablo Arraya, the loss of Casper Ruud, Norway star, will play an important role for our aspirations. Likewise, the role of Juan Pablo Varillas will be fundamental in tipping the balance towards Lucho Horna’s team.
Peru returns to the Davis Cup scene against Norway, how do you see this series?
I see it with a lot of positivity, since our main racket is playing very well. Juan Pablo Varillas has participated in all the Grand Slam tournaments and is already rubbing shoulders with several of the 10 best players in the world. Furthermore, numbers 2 and 3 of the Peruvian team are two young boys, which makes us excited because we already have a generational change, and a good seedbed.
The main news is the loss of Casper Ruud, a figure from Norway, how much has it changed our chances of winning?
If Ruud had arrived, the chances were 60/40 for Norway, because he is a figure of great respect who comes from playing Grand Slam finals, such as the US Open and Roland Garros. For people to realize how much the Norwegian team loses effectiveness without Ruud, it is as if Brazil had played without Neymar. The odds are now in our favor, I would say an 80% chance of winning and the fact that we are local and arrive recharged increases much more.
Unlike Norway, we will have our main racket, Varillas would have to open the series…
We are counting on two possible victories for Juan Pablo in singles, what is certain is that he will have a little pressure, but he is a player who has responded very well to this type of situation. Now, the Norwegian who comes in as number one is ranked better than the rest of our team. Everything will depend a lot on the first day, if we win two points.
We have a team with experience and youth, have we had a good generational change?
In fact, I consider that for this generation I am no longer a reference and I am very happy to see that the captaincy of the team has been assumed by a former player who has already been exposed to tournaments, not only of this nature, but to large tournaments. ; I think this is going to help a lot. And then, the fact that Juan Pablo Varillas is playing with our youth players and that he is exchanging balls means that they gain a lot of experience and can continue growing like Varillas did, because when Juan Pablo started it was difficult for him to win his first games, but little by little little he was consolidating and now he is a great player.
You made Varillas debut for the first time in a Davis Cup in 2015, how much has our racket evolved?
He has improved a lot, not only on a physical level, since he is one of the strongest players on the circuit in the sense that he can easily endure very long matches, as he did at Roland Garros, but I have also seen the evolution of Buse . When Nacho was 11 or 12 years old and came to the academy in Miami, he was a small player and we worked on his flexibility, we made him do a lot of yoga, that helped a lot in his evolution. The rest of the team has also grown.
Varillas is having a good time, he has just played all the Grand Slams of the season…
Without going too far, it is incredible to be able to turn on the television anywhere in the world and see that Juan Pablo Varillas is playing, representing Peru. Many people have called me from different parts of the world to tell me how good it is to be able to see a Peruvian again in the great events of world tennis, beating several of the best in the world. We must take advantage of Varillas’ good moment to close the series quickly. This is an individual sport in which the mind is very important, so not only will they have to be very well physically, but also very focused to be able to carry this series forward.
What is Varillas missing to continue attacking the top 50, 60 of the ATP?
This is an individual sport, one not only has to transform into a superhuman, but you also have to transform into a great fighter. Every time he goes out on the tennis court, Juan Pablo is going to have to give 100%; He can improve in everything. We have seen that tennis today can be played until the age of 37, 38, as the world number one, Novak Djokovic, is doing. Therefore, by believing in the process, with a lot of discipline and responsibility, and above all with a lot of faith, I think he can continue climbing, since he has great talent.
Lucho Horna warned that the Norwegians also play on clay, we must not let our guard down…
I’ve been to Norway a lot, so I’ve known Casper Ruud since I was 12, and most of the tournaments I saw him play there were on clay. They play a lot on this type of surface, and as Lucho says, I don’t think this is a big difference in our favor.
Do you dare to give a final score?
To be honest, I think we have a very good chance of winning all the points, but they are going to be very hard fought.
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