Passaro breathes new life into his career in Turin

Francesco Passaro had disappeared from the radar for a while. After a magnificent 2022 season in which he climbed from 605th in the world to 119th (+485 places), the Italian had disappeared for a while. However, at the age of 23, he has just relaunched his young career by winning the biggest title of his career.

On home soil, the youngest Italian experienced quite a comeback. Invited to take part in the qualifying rounds in Rome, Passaro pulled through and went on to win a total of 4 matches before bowing out in the third round.
Capitalizing on the confidence he had built up, he arrived in Turin with a knife between his teeth. Once again, invited by the organizers, the right-hander surprised everyone. Indeed, to reach the final, he chalked up several fine wins, over Galan (6-2, 6-7, 6-2), Ruusuvuori (7-5, 7-6), Nakashima (7-6, 6-7, 6-1) and Sonego (6-3, 6-2).

Having reached the final with four wins over players in the world's top 100, he didn't waver on Sunday. Facing compatriot Lorenzo Musetti (ranked 29th) in the final, Passaro played a full match to claim his first Challenger 175 title (6-3, 7-5).

On the strength of this magnificent week, the Italian will be pushing wide open the doors to the world's top 150. Ranked 244th in the world this week, he will be 133rd on Monday (+111 places). A great step up in the ATP rankings.

Is this the start of a real blossoming? The next few weeks will tell...