Fráncisco Cerúndolo had a strong debut at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000

The Buenos Aires man, 25 years old and No. 22 in the ATP ranking, defeated the German 6-2 and 7-6 (3) in 1h 49m Daniel Altmaier, who had entered the main draw as a lucky loser, and entered the second round of the Monegasque competition for the second consecutive year. In the first set, Francisco Cerúndolo exhibited his greatest moment of strength in the match: he won 6-2 after just over 42 minutes of action.

Although the duel started with a lot of parity, the Argentine managed a couple of breaks to comfortably take the set. He found the right dynamic for the slow court of Monte Carlo and he tormented Altmaier, 25 years old, 52nd in the world and trained by the Argentine Alberto, with fearsome rights. Luli Mancini.

Francisco Cerúndolo fought in the second set

The second set was more difficult and close. Francisco Cerúndolo He ran from behind and recovered some breaks to take the definition to the tiebreak, after having wasted a match point when he was 5-4. In the tiebreaker, the Buenos Aires player obtained a couple of mini-breaks to close the game in his first opportunity after a backhand that went long to his rival.

In the second round, Francisco Cerúndolo will clash with the Russian Karen Khachanov15th seeded, who beat the British 7-5 and 7-6 (7-3) Cameron Norrie. The 27-year-old Muscovite won the three duels he played in the past with the Argentine, all played in Masters 1000 and on hard courts: in the first round in Montreal in 2022, the quarterfinals in Miami in 2023 and the third round of the Florida tournament a few weeks ago.

If he breaks that negative streak against the Russian, Francisco Cerúndolo will deliver the best performance of his career in the Monte Carlo Masters 1000where he had his debut last year, when he surpassed the initial round (with a good victory against Norrie, then 14th seed) and was later eliminated in three sets by the Italian Matteo Berrettini22°.

Monte Carlo: Federico Coria had his debut and farewell

After having passed the classification, Federico Coria he put up a fight in his debut in the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, but could not pass the first round. The man from Rosario, 89th in the world, had his chances because he started playing very well and took the first set against Ugo Humbert, 14th seeded. But the Frenchman, who is today the best ranked in his country, reacted and overwhelmed him in the following sets to win 4-6, 6-1 and 6-2 in 2h 15m.

Despite the defeat, Federico Coria He had a great pleasure in the Monaco Principality: he played his first main draw (he had only played the qualifier in 2021, when he lost in the first round of that phase when he fell to the Italian Thomas Fabbiano). Two other Argentines will make their debut on Tuesday. Tomas Etcheverry31st in the ranking and who was a semi-finalist last week on the clay of the Houston ATP 250will have a difficult commitment against the Chilean Nicholas Jarry, 21st, in a duel that will start around 10 in Argentina. Meanwhile, in the first shift, at 6, Facundo Díaz Acosta (53°) will collide with the Spanish Roberto Bautista Agut (90°), in a duel between two players who have just played the qualifiers.