closing it, ranked 107th in the ATP world ranking, he used one hour and 50 minutes to eliminate bagnis (76) before no more than 2,000 spectators who watched the match on the Guillermo Vilas central court, at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo.
The Argentine, 23 years old and older brother of Juan Manuel Cerundolo20, will play his next game in the round of 16 against Myomir Kecmanovic (64), who previously won the duel of Serbian tennis players against Laslo Djere (56), whom he defeated by 6-4, 1-6 and 6-1.
The eldest of closing it, finalist in the 2021 edition, when he fell in the definition against Diego Schwartzmannbegan the year with high confidence after winning the Santa Cruz de la Sierra Challenger, in Bolivia, and after a setback in the initial round of the ATP in Córdoba, he recovered his best version in Buenos Aires.
Cerúndolo He passed the classification without any surprises and once in the main draw he achieved a good victory against Bagnis, with whom he had lost last year at the ATP in Marbella in straight sets.
At the start of the match, both were erratic, which prevented them from keeping their serve and making many breaks, although it was Bagnis who took a 5-1 advantage as a reward for taking greater risks and making fewer mistakes.
However, when it seemed that the set was leaning for Armstrong’s tennis player, the reaction of closing it, who dropped the forehand, corrected his serve, adjusted the return and won six games in a row to take the set 7-5 in one hour and nine minutes.
And “Fran” Cerúndolo continued to improve in the second set, when he broke from the start to win his seventh consecutive game that served him to take a 1-0 lead and then dominated until he was 5-1 with another break on Bagnis’s service in the 4- one.
The Santa Fe never felt comfortable in the game and his game was diluted against Cerúndolo, who had the merit of not giving his rival any opportunity to react and complicate his victory.
“I didn’t start playing well, not so bad either, but Facundo was better. Little by little I improved, balanced the score and then I was able to tilt the game in my favor. My family and many friends came to see me, I thank them for the support they gave me“, declared “Fran” as soon as his triumph was consummated.
Cerúndolo’s next rival will be Miomir Kecmanovic, a 22-year-old Serb who is trained by David Nalbandian from Córdoba on the South American tour and who previously beat his compatriot Djere on court number 2 in three close sets.
Another good Argentine win of the day happened in the doubles draw and on court number two, where Horacio Zeballos, from Mar del Plata, sixth in the world in the specialty, and Italian Fabio Fognini, beat the duo made up of the Brazilians Orlando Luz and Thiago Monteiro 7-6 (7-4) and 7-5.
In other games, the Spanish veteran Ferdinand Verdasco (201), 38, advanced to the round of 16 after winning a changing match over the Bolivian Hugo Dellien (103) by 6-4, 3-6 and 6-1.
The tennis player born in Madrid will play his next match against the winner of the crossover that will be cheered tomorrow by the Brazilian Thiago Monteiro (104) and the Catalan Albert Ramos (32), champion last Sunday at the ATP in Córdoba.
For Verdasco It was his fourth participation in the Argentine Open since its debut in 2004 and managed to get through the opening round as it had in the 2012 and 2018 editions.
Meanwhile, in another matchup of the doubles draw, the Spaniards Roberto Carballes Baena and Jaume Munar beat their compatriots Pablo Andújar and Pedro Martínez 2-6, 7-5 and 10-4.
The Argentina Open, which is played on a clay surface and will distribute prizes of $686,700, has Norwegian Casper Ruud (8) as the top favorite, while the second-seeded Argentine is Diego Schwartzman (15), who also defends the title it won last year.
Paire, the public’s favorite foreigner
Serbian tennis player Dusan Lajovic qualified for the round of 16 of the 22nd. edition of the Argentina Open, after beating Frenchman Benoit Paire 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) and after having saved three match points in the third set.
Lajovic, ranked 37th in the ATP world ranking, consummated his victory over Paire (50) in two hours and five minutes, before some 1,700 people who came to the main court of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, in the neighborhood porteño of Palermo.
The 31-year-old Serbian will play in the round of 16 against the winner of the match that will close tonight the first day between the Argentine Federico Coria (65) and the Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas (96).
“I don’t remember when he had saved so many match points to then win the match, I was a little lucky and he started to fail more than necessary”, Lajovic was honest in his first statements after the victory and alluding to the fact that the Frenchman took 5/4 and with a 40/0 advantage in the third and final set.
“I have to improve a lot for my next match, both Coria and Cuevas are tough opponents,” Lajovic concluded.
The Argentina Open, which is played on a clay surface and will distribute prizes of $686,700, has Norwegian Casper Ruud (8) as the top favorite, while the second-seeded Argentine is Diego Schwartzman (15), who also defends the title it won last year.
Source: Ambito
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