By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday February 20, 2025
Portugal’s Jaime Faria was barely inside the Top 400 this time last year. What a difference a year makes for the rising talent, who is now slated to make his Top 100 debut after reaching his first career ATP quarterfinal on Thursday in Rio.
Faria, who took a set off of Novak Djokovic in the second round at this year’s Australian Open, defeated Spain’s Jaume Munar, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
He’s up to No.87 in the live rankings as a result, and will join Nuno Borges (currently 37 in the live rankings) as the second man inside the top 100 from Portugal on Monday.
A blistering return to seal it 🔥Jaime Faria gets the biggest win of his young career, knocking out Munar to reach his first tour-level QF!@RioOpenOficial pic.twitter.com/4UzWN6QAc5
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 20, 2025
The Lisbon native did not own an ATP level victory until he defeated Pavel Kotov in Melbourne last month, but he did rack up 53 wins on the Challenger and Futures level last year. Faria played seven different finals in 2024, and won six of them, including four at the Challenger level.
He’s a powerhouse who actually performed better on hard courts than he did on clay last year.
As he’s demonstrating in Rio, he knows his way around the clay as well. He cracked 35 winners against 49 winners against Munar, who managed just 11 winners against 18 unforced errors.
“I’m so happy,” he said. “In these tournaments it’s easier to find motivation to come back stronger and give everything that I have in my legs and in my head.
“I think confidence is the word. I think my level is there, and it has been there the last year. I have so much confidence and so many wins – let’s keep it that way.”
Faria will face fellow lucky loser Camilo Ugo Carabelli for a spot in the semifinals on Friday in Rio.
