The young Lisbon star, who is only 21 years old, told Lusa that he felt "fulfilled and happy" after his achievement.

With this victory, Faria builds on an already stellar season in which he won the Oeiras Open 4 earlier this year and advanced to the secondary circuit championships in Valencia just two weeks ago.

With a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over the world number 167, Faria demonstrated the significance of this trophy in bolstering his self-esteem and advancing him up the ATP rankings. “This title is very important for me; it helps me move up the rankings, which is what I want, and above all, it gives me the motivation to continue. In the end, this is just a reward for my hard work,” he highlighted.

Faria said: “It’s a journey I intend to keep going on. I’m not surprised by my performance because I believe I have the level to win these tournaments.” He recalled two wins out of around twenty outings in the Challenger circuit in 2024 and admitted the difficulties he had earlier in the season after losing a lot of games at this level, which he views as high.”

Faria, who is now ranked 144th in the ATP hierarchy, is expected to place in the top 120 after Monday's ranking update thanks to his victory in Curitiba.

Two weeks ago, he became the 10th Portuguese player to ever make it into the top 150, making him the second youngest behind Nuno Marques. He began the year in 411th place.

Author

A passionate Irish journalist with a love for cycling, politics and of course Portugal especially their sausage rolls.

Rory Mc Ginn