Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.

Juan Pablo Varillas claimed the biggest win of his life on Friday by seeing off Hubert Hurkacz to book a place in the fourth round of Roland Garros, becoming the first Peruvian to reach the last 16 since Jaime Yzaga in 1994. To do so he has had to fend off three fifth-set match points: against Chinese player Juncheng Chang in the first round, Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round, and finally against Hurkacz.

In the process, Varillas also managed to do something else; he sent a message of hope to the young people of Peru.

“I think it’s a very good thing for my country,” said Varillas. “Being a professional tennis player is not an option there, so this is a good example for the children. With hard work, discipline, perseverance and belief in yourself, I think it’s possible. It will be a good boost for the children to continue to pursue their dreams of being professional tennis players so that their parents don’t pressure them.

“It’s an incredible feeling and it’s difficult to describe because this triumph is a result of many years of hard work, of coming through the ranks, of making sacrifices all the time, of the support of my team, my family and the people around me. That leads you to experience and enjoy moments like this.”

It was precisely those people that stopped him from retiring from tennis in 2016. Back then, struggling with the dip in confidence that comes with a lack of results and after six months of fruitless hard work in Barcelona, Varillas was considering hanging up his racquet. Suddenly, the words of his idol had stopped making sense. “Hopefully we’ll meet someday on Tour. Practise hard!” the Spaniard told him in 2013 during an exhibition in Peru, where they played a doubles match together.

The four photos of Rafael Nadal hanging on the walls of his parents’ home in Lima went from being a motivation to a reminder of a time when he seemed to have reached a dead end. The dream of coinciding with his hero had all but evaporated.

“I thought ‘I’m not cut out for this, competition on this level is not for me’,” admitted Varillas.

In fact, he considered going back to studying engineering at the Catholic University of Lima, a degree he had set aside years early to fully focus on tennis.

However, the Lima native trusted the advice of his loved ones. Since then, slowly but surely, the results have kept coming. The 2020 Australian Open was his first experience of a major, and despite losing in the second round of qualifying, he shared a locker room with Nadal and realized that it had been worthwhile fighting for his dream. Finally, he crossed paths with his idol on the professional circuit.

The support of his family also proved crucial early in his career.

“In the early years, they were the ones who helped me,” he remembered. “I was playing in Futures tournaments for almost six years. They supported me, trusted me and never pressured me. They played the role of parents, but without interfering in the tennis. They were with me through thick and thin. They deserve all my gratitude. It’s the first time they have come to see me at a Grand Slam. I’m happy to have the chance to share this moment with them.”

Last August he broke into the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and this week in Paris he has claimed his first three wins at a major.

“Doing that here is special. Roland Garros is the tournament I always dreamed of playing in. I have also dreamed of winning matches here, and it’s amazing now that it’s happening. I’m so proud,” added the world No. 94.

He came very close to achieving that dream one year ago. He was two sets up against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round but went on to lose. Twelve months on, he now has three wins in the main draw of this season’s Roland Garros. That winning mentality was largely fostered in Buenos Aires, the city he has called home since early 2017.

“In Argentina I completely changed my life. I started to mature there and improved a lot in every way,” said Varillas. “There are so many great players, coaches, fitness coaches, physios and sports psychologists in that country. All that competition makes you raise your game and prevents you from resting on your laurels.”

Amid all the success stories from Argentinian players at his year’s clay-court major, Varillas could easily be confused for one of them. He has an Argentine coach (Diego Junqueira, former World No. 68), he drinks mate, eats medialunas and is a Boca Juniors fan. However, he has not forgotten his roots and still works hard to inspire new generations of players in Peru.

“I try to set an example,” he explained. “I had Lucho Horna to look up to, and now I can be that for other kids. It’s a wonderful responsibility and I try to use it as extra motivation.”

Now, Varillas is surely facing the biggest challenge of his career; Novak Djokovic in the fourth round at Roland Garros. He only learned who his opponent would be a few minutes after sealing his passage to the next round.

“I didn’t know, I found out in the on-court interview,” he said. “Playing against one of the biggest players in history on one of the most amazing courts on Tour… I’m so excited about the opportunity of going out there and winning. It’s the perfect stage to continue this great week.”

The third-round action draws to a close Saturday at Roland Garros, where Frances Tiafoe and Alexander Zverev meet in an intriguing matchup at the clay-court major. Top 10 stars Casper Ruud, Holger Rune and Taylor Fritz are also in action as they chase a fourth-round berth in the bottom half of the draw.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at some standout matches from the Day 7 schedule in Paris.

[12] Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs. [22] Alexander Zverev (GER)

A first clay-court meeting between Tiafoe and Zverev will bring two of the biggest baseline hitters on Tour together on Court Philippe Chatrier. The two-time semi-finalist Zverev has impressed upon returning to Roland Garros for the first time since he retired from his 2022 semi-final against Rafael Nadal after rolling his ankle, notching straight-sets victories against Lloyd Harris and Alex Molcan.

Zverev leads Tiafoe 6-1 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series, but the pair has not met since 2021 in Vienna. Since then, Tiafoe has risen to the brink of the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and reached his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at the 2022 US Open. Now into the third round at Roland Garros for the first time, can the World No. 12 down Zverev for another breakthrough at a major tournament?

[4] Casper Ruud [NOR] vs. Zhang Zhizhen (CHN)

Last year’s finalist Ruud has made a fast start to his latest Roland Garros campaign. The Norwegian has shown signs of rediscovering his best level in recent weeks after a modest first few months of the season, and he deployed his powerful forehand to great effect against Elias Ymer and Giulio Zeppieri in Paris to reach the third round for the fifth consecutive year.

The fourth seed’s next challenge is a maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with Zhang Zhizhen. The Chinese star is yet to drop a set on his main draw debut in Paris, where he has impressively backed up his run to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in Madrid last month. Zhang’s ability to match the depth of Ruud’s groundstrokes could be key, with the Norwegian one of the most clinical on Tour at pouncing on any short balls.

[6] Holger Rune (DEN) vs. [Q] Genaro Alberto Olivieri (ARG)

Rune competes for the first time since Tuesday after his second-round opponent Gael Monfils withdrew due to a wrist injury, and the sixth seed will hope to find his rhythm quickly as he seeks to reach the fourth round at a major for the third time by beating qualifier Genaro Alberto Olivieri. Rune is 14-3 on clay this year after reaching finals in Monte-Carlo and Rome either side of a title run in Munich, and he holds fond memories of Roland Garros after reaching the quarter-finals on event debut a year ago.

Olivieri is enjoying a breakout run of his own this year in Paris. He had not played a tour-level main draw match prior to this week, but the 24-year-old saw off Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in five sets and Andrea Vavassori in four to earn his clash with Rune on Court Philippe-Chatrier. It will be the Argentine’s first match against a Top 10 opponent.

Also In Action…

Alongside Ruud and Rune, Taylor Fritz is the other Top 10 star in action on Friday. The American faces 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Daniel Altmaier looks to back up his second-round upset of Jannik Sinner against 28th seed Grigor Dimitrov and Daniil Medvedev’s conquerer Thiago Seyboth Wild aims to extend his run against Yoshihito Nishioka.

Borna Coric is the other seeded player in third-round action. The Croatian meets Tomas Martin Etcheverry, while three-time clay-court ATP Tour titlist Nicolas Jarry plays Marcos Giron.

Sebastian Ofner has been one of the surprise packages this year at Roland Garros, with the Austrian qualifier advancing to a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time. He had played just one tour-level match this season, a defeat in Estoril, before picking up three wins in Paris.

Those three tour-level victories match his win tally from the entirety of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. But for those plugged into the ATP Challenger Tour, the 27-year-old’s Roland Garros run may not have come as a shock.

Ofner entered Paris at a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of World No. 118, having reached the final and semi-finals in two May Challenger events. But he had faced a Top 100 player just once this season before he opened his Roland Garros main-draw campaign with upsets wins against World No. 44 Maxime Cressy and No. 24 seed Sebastian Korda. After dismissing both Americans in straight sets, Ofner scored a five-set victory against former Top 10 player Fabio Fognini on Friday.

With his 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 win against the Italian, Ofner eclipsed his previous best major run to the 2017 Wimbledon third round and lifted himself to No. 80 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings — a 38-spot jump on the week.

“I think that the key was that I’m playing every point, that I don’t give up one point in the match, because against Fognini, everybody knows that he can play really well,” Ofner said post-match. “But I think the key was that I was fighting every point and trying to make him play as much as possible.”

Sweet 16 🥹

Sebastian Ofner scores a first career Slam fourth round dispatching Fognini 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/DV4YJvHLKU

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2023

He will next face another elite shotmaker in fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with a quarter-final berth on the line. With Ofner’s 15-3 set record at this year’s Roland Garros, including qualifying, the Greek won’t be overlooking his surprise opponent.

Ofner also qualified for the French Open last season, but was turned back in the opening round by Alexander Zverev. Two months later, he defeated Richard Gasquet at the ATP 250 in Kitzbuhel for what was his most recent tour-level win until this week.

With his current form, his next such victory won’t be far away, whether it comes against Tsitsipas or on the ATP Tour in the near future.

Juan Pablo Varillas continued his dream run Friday at Roland Garros, where he earned the highest-ranked win of his career after he upset 13th seed Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2 in the third round.

The Peruvian, who had not won a Grand Slam main draw match heading into Paris, has survived three consecutive five-set thrillers to set a fourth-round clash against 22-time major champion Novak Djokovic. Incredibly, all five of Varillas’ career Grand Slam appearances have gone the distance.

It’s been a dramatic reversal of fortune for Varillas at Roland Garros, where last year he squandered a two-sets-to-love lead against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the opening round. This year, in his first two matches, Varillas battled back from two-sets-to-love down against Shang Juncheng and Roberto Bautista Agut.

The Lima native will look to add to his run by collecting his first Top 5 win against the third seed Djokovic. Varillas, who is at a career-high No. 60 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, is the first Peruvian to reach the Roland Garros fourth round since Jaime Yzaga in 1994.

The 27-year-old Varillas struck his groundstrokes with power and depth throughout the three-hour, 51-minute battle against Hurkacz. Varillas held the advantage in extended rallies and absorbed the Pole’s hefty delivery to advance. A five-time ATP Challenger Tour champion, Varillas has broken serve 19 times across three matches, including four breaks against the World No. 14 Hurkacz.

Earlier this year, Varillas pushed Alexander Zverev to five sets in the first round of the Australian Open, where the Peruvian was making his Melbourne debut as a lucky loser.