Varillas hands Thiem heartbreaking farewell to Gstaad

Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas handed Dominic Thiem a heartbreaking final appearance at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad after denying the 2020 US Open champion in a third-set tie-break Monday.

A two-time quarter-finalist at the clay-court ATP 250, Varillas came into the tournament with just one tour-level match win on the season. Making his final appearance in the picturesque Swiss town, Thiem rallied from a set down to lead 4-2 in the third but was ultimately denied in a deciding-set tie-break as Varillas powered home to a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4) win.

Playing his final season, the former World No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings was looking for just his third match win on the season and first since Estoril in late April.

Varillas next faces a first-time Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Italian veteran Fabio Fognini, who defeated French qualifier Titouan Droguet 6-4, 6-3.

German Jan-Lennard Struff fired 11 aces and won 86 per cent of first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats in a 7-6(6), 7-6(4) win over Spanish veteran Albert Ramos-Vinaolas in a match that featured just two breaks of serve.