Francisco Cerúndolo achieved the only Argentine victory this Wednesday in the ATP tournaments, a day that ended with the defeats of Tomás Etcheverry, Mariano Navone and Thiago Tirante.
In Astana, Cerúndolo reached the quarterfinals by beating German Justin Engel, one of the young promises of the circuit, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). This Monday, Engel had become the first player born in 2007 to win a match at the ATP level, by defeating Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong.
Cerúndolo’s quarterfinal opponent, who is the only Argentine in Astana, will emerge from the winner of the match between the Russian Aslan Karatsev and the Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko. Cerúndolo is in search of his fourth title at the ATP level, after those achieved in Bastad 2022, Eastbourne 2023 and UMAG 2024.
The other Argentines who played this Wednesday were Etcheverry and Navone in Antwerp, and Tirante in Stockcolom. Etcheverry fell 7-6 (7-2) and 6-4 against Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut, extending his drought without reaching the quarterfinals of a tournament to three months. Navone, for his part, was also unable to reach the quarterfinals, as he lost in a very tight three-set match against the Frenchman Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-7 (3-7) and 7-6 (9- 7).
Meanwhile, Tirante lost 7-6 (7-2) and 6-2 in the second round of the ATP 250 in Stockholm against the also Spanish Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, a player who knew how to be one of the best in the world at the junior level, but that could never explode into the tennis elite.
