Argentinian tennis player Francisco Cerúndolo, placed 26th in the ATP ranking, managed to defeat Italy's Luciano Darderi, ranked 61st, with scores of 6-7 (1), 6-3, and 6-2 in a match that lasted just over two hours. Thanks to this victory, Cerúndolo advanced to the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro. In a closely contested first set, despite leading 4-2, the Argentinian lost in the tie-break but managed to recover in the following sets to secure his place in the next stage.
Currently the best Argentinian tennis player, he started the match more solidly than his opponent, taking a 4-2 lead in the first set. Despite this, Darderi reacted and forced the tie-break in which he emerged victorious. With determination, Cerúndolo broke Darderi's serve again at the start of the second set, thus maintaining his lead and ensuring the match would be decided in the third set to advance to the quarter-finals in Rio de Janeiro.
"Francisco Cerúndolo broke his opponent's serve in the fifth game and finally sealed the match to secure his place in the quarter-finals, where he will face Frenchman Alexander Müller (60th)."
On the other hand, Argentinian tennis player Tomás Etcheverry (44th) suffered a defeat against Frenchman Alexander Müller (60th) in the round of 16 of the same tournament with scores of 7-5 and 7-6 (7/5). Although he managed to break serve in the third game of the first set, two consecutive service losses in the last games cost him the first set. In the second set, after a tie with a break on each side, Müller prevailed in the tie-break.
"Müller continues to eliminate contenders along the way, having knocked out promising Joao Fonseca (68th) and now doing the same with the eighth seed. In the quarter-finals, the Frenchman will play against the finalist of the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (26th)."
