Peru's Maria Castillo beat Chilean Sofia Fuentes, ranking among the Top 8 in the competition.
The Peruvian players dominated the wheelchair tennis session
at Lima 2019 Parapan American Games. Apart from Ysabelino Apaza and Jesus Mayhua's victories in men's singles, Peru snatched another medal thanks to Castillo.
The wheelchair tennis player won the first round of the competition, after beating the Chilean Fuentes by far.
Cheered by a great number of fans at
Club Lawn Tennis, the Para athlete —from northern Andean Cajamarca region— came back from 4-1 down in the first half and ended up winning the last two sets.
Castillo will try to move to the semifinals against U.S. Dana Mathewson, the third favorite to win in the tournament.
"It was exciting because I managed to come back with the support of the fans. Also, the pride of playing home helped me not to give up that easily, and I was able to show off all my experience on the court (19 years)," Castillo said.
"My goal was to advance to the next round and to keep improving, especially because we're facing off the best Para athletes in the world," she concluded.