Luca Vanni was little known before this tournament. For the biggest part of his career the 29-year-old from Italy used to be ranked between world no.250 and no.500. Luca is currently ranked 145 (career high) to incredibly reach the final in Sao Paulo coming straight from the qualifications.
Vanni managed to beat world no. 110 and home favorite Joao Sousa in the semifinal 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-4 in 2 hours and 56 minutes .
Vanni will play world no. 32 Pablo Cuevas in the final. They have never played each other so far, but Pablo is the clear favorite for the title.
