Argentinian tennis player Francisco Cerúndolo (20th) lost 6-1 and 7-5 to British Jack Draper (14th) and was eliminated from the Indian Wells Masters 1000. As reported by the Argentine News Agency, the 27-year-old racket arrived at this match after defeating Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in the fourth round last Saturday, 6-4, 5-7, and 7-6(5). Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Briton had just defeated Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 3-6, 6-3, and 6-2. In a match that lasted one hour and 18 minutes on court 2 of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Cerúndolo was completely outplayed in the first set, falling 6-1 to Draper, who is seeking to defend his title from last year. In the second set, the Argentine leveled the match and reached 5-5, but the Briton held his serve and then broke Cerúndolo's, winning the match 7-5. In the next round, Draper will face none other than Serbian Novak Djokovic (3rd), who defeated American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 1-6, and 6-4. With this result, Cerúndolo extends his poor streak at this tournament, as he has never advanced beyond this round in four appearances. In both 2023 and 2024, he was eliminated in the third round, and in last year's edition, he lost in the fourth. Additionally, this defeat marked Cerúndolo's first loss to Draper, as the Briton had beaten him in their two previous encounters, both at the ATP 250 in Lyon, France, and in the Davis Cup 2024 tie-break. Thus, the only Argentine still standing in this Indian Wells Masters 1000 is Sebastián Báez (53rd), who will face Russian Daniil Medvedev (11th) this Monday.
