It was not easy for “Little One” to get here. The bad weather on Friday forced him to suspend his quarterfinal match against Francisco Cerúndolo at the dawn of the third set, because what the match was defined this Saturday at noon. And he walked on the ledge: his first rival served for the match, but the world number 15 won three games in a row to take the victory.
Late in the afternoon, with an abnormal temperature for February, Schwartzman, second favorite in the contest, returned to the Central Court Guillermo Vilas to face the Italian Sonego, third seeded. And the European did not make it easy for him, with a break in the epilogue of the second set and a fake -sterile- comeback in the decider.
For the last champion of the Argentina Open it was never easy to play in the country, because he imposes an extra pressure on himself to that generated by being the best Latin American tennis player of the moment. For several years, “Peque” has been out on the field to win the tournament, not just to give his best, something that he was finally able to achieve in 2021. Although the hometown motivates him, it also conditions him.
It will be the fourth home final for the Hacoaj club. In 2019 he broke the limits and reached the decisive match at the Palermo Cathedral, although the experience was negative: Marco Cecchinato swept him away and won 6-1 and 6-2. A year later he played for the title at the Córdoba Open, with victory for the Chilean Cristian Garin in three sets.
Third time was the charm for Schwartzman. In a luxury Argentina Open for him, he won the most coveted trophy after beating Francisco Cerúndolo 6-1, 6-2. It was an immaculate victory for the one who was the first classified in the last edition, because he did not lose a set in the entire contest.
Four finals in the country in the last four years, a figure that few tennis players can boast. This Sunday will not have it easy, because the Norwegian will be on the other side of the net Casper Ruudwho earlier had beaten by a double 6-3 to Frederic Delbonis.
It will be a fight between the last two champions of the ATP Tour event in Buenos Aires, with an extra seasoning: it will be the first time in eight years that the trophy has been decided by the top two seeds. In 2014, the Spanish David Ferrer (1) achieved the three-time championship by beating the Italian Fabio Fognini (2).
Where a national champion is guaranteed is in the doubles draw. Horace Zeballos6th in the specialty ranking, together with Fognini, will face the porteño Andres Molteni and the Mexican Santiago González.
The last time there were two national champions was in 2008, when David Nalbandian won the title in singles and Agustín Calleri, along with Peruvian Luis Horna, were crowned among couples. As for the finalists of this edition, Zeballos is looking for his fifth title in the BALTC, while Molteni will try to be crowned for the second time: he won in 2018, precisely with the man from Mar del Plata as his partner.
The Argentina Open already has its decisive matches confirmed, with the hope of important joys for national tennis. It was Schwartzman himself who broke with European hegemony after 13 years, and he will try to continue down that path, precisely in the tournament in which the Argentine ace of spades said goodbye.
Source: Ambito
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