They call it “La Compu”. He has an almost perverse style of play: he puts his rivals in the web, destroys them little by little, always with the right shot. His life changed last February when he won the Córdoba Open in a magical week. “It was awesome, I couldn’t believe it. It was too much, I expected to advance but not so much “, he tells Ambit under the trees in the Racket player area.
Two years ago the youngest of the Cerúndolo brothers played his first Challengers matches and was the 550th in the world. His career changed completely after the ATP of “La Docta” and today he has a new milestone to celebrate: with only nine matches on the major circuit, he entered the World Top 100 and is the youngest to do so since Juan Martin del Potro in 2006.
“Juanma” confesses it openly, like every concept he elaborates. His mind was on the Top 100 the whole time. “Maybe he played me a bit against in these tournaments, because I was more pressured than normal. I feel like I deserve it. The 100 barrier is very high due to the inflation of points. In a normal year I would be inside, that’s why I am so eager “, says the 19-year-old tennis player.
In the wake of the pandemic Covid-19, the tennis rankings were frozen. The points accumulated and there were almost no moves. For those who had to defend tournaments it was a relief, but for those who climbed it was an ordeal. Hence, the goal of being in the top 100 was an extra sacrifice.
“It did not benefit anyone and less to the young people who are getting involved, because they give us a year to do it, we have to add an infinity of points, while others out there do not win games and stay”, criticizes the winner of three Challengers titles in 2021.
This year is unimaginable for Cerúndlo. Like a perfectly calibrated projectile, it rose from 341 to the top 100. A fact is worth explaining its season: the first tournaments it played in 2021 were two M15s (ex Futures) in Atalya, Turkey. In the second he reached the final. A month and a half later, he won the ATP in Córdoba.
He qualifies that week as the best of his life. “Everything went well,” he analyzes. “He taught me a lot and I learned a lot from there, but it doesn’t tell me anything. I had to keep fighting from below, I went to do the entire Challenger circuit, I only received one wild card. It gave me a ranking, it made me better known, it gave me other chances and learnings “.
Just as he calculates his game almost cybernetically, so is his way of expressing himself. His words say the right thing. In fact, he recognizes that being the champion of a tournament like the one in Córdoba gave him fame and sporting impulses, but he does not want to stop stepping on solid ground. “It is good that people support you, that they send you messages and motivate you. But you do not have to get on the horse, it is only support and you do not have to believe anything “, he reflects.
Tournaments like the Challenger of Buenos Aires they have a different climate. There are many young players trying to gain space in the professional world, tennis players walk the aisles freely. Families can greet winners and losers without delay, and also rejoice or comfort other relatives who have just suffered a sports setback. The Cerúndolo, parents and children, are like this, recognized throughout the tennis environment. And of course, both Juan Manuel and Francisco -finalist of the last Argentina Open- are key figures in this contest.
Little by little, the chinstraps thin and the hugs become more frequent. The pandemic subsides and normality regains its place. “La Compu” did not have a good time at the beginning of this dark story, but the worst, as they say, was left behind. “It killed me, I made almost no progress. It was a very bad year for me. I had many injuries, feeding problems, energy problems. This year I made some changes and it was much better “, bill.
“I did not train for a long time, outside of tennis. It took me a lot to get back to the rhythm, traveling, competing, eating well, doing things like a professional ”, he brings to mind today. For “Juanma” the key was in the physical, something that could not develop and where he sees a primary factor to advance in the elite.
“The difference from pro to junior is more than anything physical and mental. If you have tennis, you are wearing it. You have to endure the intensity of the professionals, which is very high, you need a lot of physicality “, describe.
During the second semester of this year, both he and his team made a magnificent play: he gave up participating in the qualification by US Open to focus on a Challengers tour in Europe to get closer to the top 100. The bet paid him with a full: two titles, a final and a semifinal.
“It was a decision of my coach –Andrés Dellatorre-. I would have liked it, but it was better for me, because it was cement, I didn’t have many chances to score. By winning the three Challengers he could accumulate 360 points, and otherwise he had to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open. It was unfeasible ”, he says. Today planning makes much more sense.
Juan Manuel Cerúndolo acknowledges that after winning the Cordoba ATP felt a little pressure coming back to the Challengers. However, he quickly understood that his “business” was to compete beyond results. Perfect your own version, the goal of each athlete.
“I need to improve the serve and the return for the cement, stand a little closer to the line. I need to be a little more aggressive, play my game more and not depend so much on the other, something I like ”, he is honest about what he needs to evolve in his tennis.
Cerúndolo has a good chance of entering the Next Gen Finals 2021, the end-of-year Masters for under-21s. They qualify seven and so far he is 7th in the race, although a couple of results and losses could guarantee his trip to Milan ahead of time.
There he focuses while celebrating entering the elite hall of the sport of rackets. He has his place among the 100 best in the world, with only 19 years. But he also thinks about the next generation Masters and the Australian Open. The computer does not turn off.
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