WAWRINKA: “WILD CARD IMPORTANT, I’M READY TO DO WELL”
BASILE FLIES INTO MAIN DRAW. TRAVAGLIA BEATS TOMIC
Perugia, 9 June 2025 – After the tasty appetizer of the qualifications, the 10th edition of the Internazionali di Tennis Città di Perugia | G.I.Ma. Tennis Cup has finally raised the curtain on the main draw. The cadet draw closed in the morning, with Pierluigi Basile, Federico Bondioli and Gabriele Piraino winning: with them, the number of Italians in the main draw rises to twelve. Meanwhile, on the courts of the Tennis Club Perugia, expectations are growing for the most anticipated debut: that of Stan Wawrinka, who tomorrow at 8:30 pm will make his debut in the ATP Challenger 125 tournament by MEF Tennis Events against Radu Albot. But first, at 6:00 pm, it will be Francesco Passaro’s turn. The Perugian is called to a debut that is anything but simple: in the all-Italian derby against Francesco Maestrelli.
All set for Wawrinka’s debut – After his first training session on Sunday, Stan Wawrinka returned to the court today for a session with Dusan Lajovic, former ATP number 23. Lots of fans flocked to the Tennis Club Perugia to admire the shots of the three-time Slam champion, who appeared to be in good condition. “I’m happy to be in Perugia, I love Italy and the club is fantastic: these first two days have gone well,” said Stan, who will challenge Radu Albot tomorrow night. “I thank MEF Tennis Events for this important wild card, obviously I want to do well. Right now I’m thinking about the present and in the coming months I want to get back into the top 100. How do I find motivation? Dreams and goals are created every day. Maybe I step onto the court with a few more limitations than in the past, but I love tennis and that’s enough to do my best.” Currently number 155 in the world, just a month ago Wawrinka reached the final at the Aix En-Provence Challenger, proving he can be competitive even at 40 years old. During the press conference, the Swiss champion also spoke about the Roland Garros final between Sinner and Alcaraz: “It was a fantastic match, the level was incredibly high. A final like this between world number 1 and 2 is what the public wants. It will be difficult for the competition to beat them in the coming years”.
Italy immediately protagonist – Travaglia 2nd round, Basile in main draw – In the morning, the Perugia crowd lit up for Pierluigi Basile. The young man born in 2007, born in Martina Franca but raised tennis-wise at the Tennis Training School in Foligno, where he has been training since he was 14, earned a place in the main draw by beating Marco Cecchinato in a derby to be experienced: 7-5 6-7(2) 6-3 after 2 hours and 42 minutes of battle. His official debut will be against the Spaniard Carlos Sanchez Jover. In the qualifications, successes in three sets also for Federico Bondioli and Gabriele Piraino. The first came back and beat Alex Marti Pujolras (2-6 6-4 6-2), while the second overcame Lucio Ratti with the score of 6-7 6-4 6-0. In the main draw, instead, a sprint debut for Stefano Travaglia: lightning victory over Bernard Tomic, regulated with a clear 6-3 6-1 in 49 minutes.