Tennis legend João Soares turns the tide against a top 10 player and advances to the semifinals of the 39th Yone Borba Dias Cup in Porto Alegre.

One of the legends of Brazilian tennis, João Soares from Campinas, former world number 74 in singles and former top 50 in doubles, survived a true battle of more than three hours this Tuesday and qualified for the semifinals of the 39th edition of the Yone Borba Dias Cup held in Porto Alegre, the most traditional and one of the largest events in the country on the international Masters circuit. The MT 700 category event has more than 200 athletes from ten countries and is co-sponsored by Cyrela, in addition to support from Unicred, TX4 Capital, Stella Artois and Água Crystal.

The official hotel is the Hotel Master Cosmopolitan.

João defeated the world number eight and former leader in the 70-year-old category, Frenchman Serge Gresy, by 2 sets to 1 with scores of 3/6 6/4 7/5 under a scorching sun of almost 30°C. He will fight for a place in the final this Wednesday against Luiz Heeren from Rio de Janeiro, who beat Brazilian Luiz Rolla by a double 6/0.

"I knew it would be very difficult, and if the game took longer it would be worse for me. I went in very anxious, thinking about many things: my name being mentioned in the press, that the guy was number 1, that the guy wouldn't get tired. I lost my way at the beginning, but in the second set I started hitting my forehand better, I started attacking him, I made it 5-2 and thought I was going to close it out, but the guy came back strong and the agony began. I closed it out 6-4. In the third set I was exhausted, my legs were heavy, I thought he was going to kill me. I managed to break him there at 6-5," said João, revealing his thoughts throughout the battle.

"I was thinking about a lot of things. I thought about good things, I remembered that I won the Guadalajara tournament (Mexico), it was difficult, number 1 seed, 7/6 in the third set, I had the ability to play him on equal terms, even if it went to a tie-break I would have a chance. I thought about good things, about Djokovic, that he doesn't give up matches, and there were moments of doubt. Will I be able to handle it?"

Regarding his next opponent this Wednesday, João commented that he expects a difficult game and what he intends to do for his physical recovery: "I know his game, we faced each other in São Paulo, it will depend on my legs. Now, to recover, I'm going to have a beer to relax. Do like the Europeans do (laughs)."

The competition runs until Saturday, the 8th, and features athletes from ten countries. Besides Brazil and Uruguay, the event includes athletes from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, France, Italy, Jordan, Australia, and South Korea. The 39th edition of the Yone Borba Dias Cup is organized by Pró-Tênis Promoções Esportivas and is sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation, the Brazilian Tennis Confederation, and the Rio Grande do Sul Tennis Federation.

The tournament is co-sponsored by Cyrela and supported by Unicred, TX4 Capital, Stella Artois, and Água Crystal. The official hotel is the Hotel Master Cosmopolitan.