PERUGIA, June 13, 2025
Francesco Passaro headlined Thursday’s night session of the Internazionali di Tennis Città di Perugia | G.I.Ma. Tennis Cup and became the fifth Italian to book a spot in the quarterfinals of the ATP Challenger Tour 125 tournament, organized by MEF Tennis Events. Under the lights and in front of about 1,000 spectators on Center Court of the Tennis Club Perugia, the 24-year-old defeated Norway’s Viktor Durasovic 6-4, 6-2.
Passaro withstood six aces and broke his rival’s serve three times. The World No. 141 won 58 per cent of the total points played to secure victory in one hour and 16 minutes.
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A quarterfinal exit to Daniel Altmaier in 2023 left Passaro wanting more from his home tournament. This year, seeded seventh, the Perugia native is looking to go one step further.
“It wasn’t easy. I am playing at home, so I had to manage all the emotion and pressure, because my dream is it to win this tournament,” Passaro told Tennis TourTalk after the match. “I played Viktor last week in Bad Rappenau. I didn’t play my best-quality tennis today but I managed to win. I am very happy.”
Asked to describe his hometown city of Perugia in three words, Passaro responded with a smile: “Food, enjoying and odd. We have so many things to explore and a lot of good restaurants.”
Passaro is set for another prime-time appearance on Friday night against Andrea Pellegrino, who is enjoying a strong season highlighted by a run to the final at the ATP Challenger 175 in Estoril, Portugal. The head-to-head between the two is currently tied at 2-2, with Passaro winning their most recent meeting in Munich earlier this year, 6-3, 6-4. However, he hasn’t forgotten their clash in Perugia in 2023, when Pellegrino eliminated him in the opening round, 7-6(3), 6-3.
“I’ll try to get my revenge two years later, but I expect a tough match against a player who’s in good form,” said Passaro. “It’s great to see so many Italians in the quarters. I’ve been training with Basile this week—he’s a good guy and is having a great tournament.”
Pellegrino secured his quarterfinal berth earlier in the day with a 6-1, 6-4 win over 20-year-old Italian qualifier Federico Bondioli. The quarterfinal action will begin at 3:30 p.m. local time with another all-Italian duel between Pierluigi Basile and Federico Arnaboldi. At the same time, Dalibor Svrcina will face Nerman Fatic, while the evening session kicks off at 6:00 p.m. with Luca Nardi taking on Luka Pavlovic.
Thursday’s Results
Second Round
Andrea Pellegrino (9) def. Federico Bondioli (Q) 6-1, 6-4
Francesco Passaro (7) def. Viktor Durasovic 6-4, 6-2
Pierluigi Basile (Q) def. Radu Albot 6-3, 7-6(7)
Federico Arnaboldi def. Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez 6-2, 6-4
