Argentinian tennis players Francisco Cerúndolo and Tomás Etcheverry both started with victories at the ATP 500 tournaments in Munich and Barcelona, advancing to the round of 16.
In Munich, where he is defending the semifinals he reached last year, Cerúndolo put in a solid performance to easily defeat Indian Sumit Nagal 6-2 and 6-2 in just one hour and 10 minutes of play. In this way, the Argentine is beginning to put behind the poor performance he had at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he was eliminated in the second round after losing to Czech Tomas Machac.
His opponent in the round of 16 will be Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp, who debuted in the tournament with a straight-sets victory over Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler. Cerúndolo, seeded fifth, is obligated to have a good performance in this edition of the ATP in Munich, as he could drop out of the top 20 of the rankings if he fails to defend at least the semifinals he reached last year.
The main title contender in this tournament is German and defending champion Alexander Zverev, who will debut on Tuesday when he faces Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.
Meanwhile, at the ATP 500 in Barcelona, the Argentine Etcheverry managed to overcome a tough obstacle by eliminating British Jack Draper. Etcheverry was leading 3-6, 6-3, and 4-1 after one hour and 45 minutes of play when he benefited from his opponent's retirement. This victory allowed the La Plata native to reach the round of 16, where he will face the winner of the match between Portuguese Nuno Borges and French Adrian Mannarino.
Etcheverry, who won his first title this year by conquering the ATP 500 in Rio, is going through the best moment of his career. He comes from reaching the round of 16 in Monte Carlo, where he fell to Spanish and then-world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
The other Argentine who will play on Monday will be Marco Trungelliti, who will have an interesting encounter with Serbian Hamad Medjedovic.
