The third time was the charm for Francisco Cerúndolo! The world number 21 finally broke through the third-round barrier at the Australian Open by defeating Andrey Rublev (15th). It was 6-3, 7-6 (4), and 6-3 in 2 hours and 8 minutes of play.
The 27-year-old tennis player, who was ranked 18th in the world last season and holds 3 titles (Bastad, Eastbourne, and Umag), started his season with an early defeat at the ATP 250 in Adelaide against the Spaniard Jaume Munar. But the setback quickly became a thing of the past as soon as he set foot in Melbourne Park.
Seeded eighteenth in the men’s draw, he kicked off with a solid performance against the Chinese player Zhizhen Zhang (6-3, 7-6 (0), 6-3). Then, to reach the third round of the tournament once again, he replicated his feat by overwhelmingly defeating Damir Dzumhur (6-3, 6-2, 6-1).
In pursuit of his first round of 16 in Oceania, he faced a familiar opponent in the third round: Andrey Rublev. Previously, the South American led 3-1 in their head to head with the most recent encounter occurring at the 2024 Paris Masters 1000. However, despite the many chapters of their rivalry, the context here was entirely new as it was their first meeting in a Grand Slam.
Cerúndolo’s strategy, which he revealed days earlier when he learned the Russian would be his next opponent, was clear: quickly take control of the point to prevent the other side from doing the same. He achieved this with a 49% effectiveness on his first serves, 30 winners, winning 5 out of 10 points at the net, and converting 3 out of 6 break opportunities.
The protégé of Pablo Cuevas is the first Argentine to reach this stage in the tournament since Diego Schwartzman did in 2020, just before the onset of the last pandemic.
Making his debut in the round of 16 at Melbourne Park, he awaits the German Alexander Zverev (3rd).