argentinaopentennis
Francisco Cerundolo advances in straight sets Tuesday while Juan Manuel Cerundolo battles for three-and-a-half hours.
By ATP Staff
Argentine brothers Francisco Cerundolo and Juan Manuel Cerundolo secured wins on Tuesday at the IEB+ Argentina Open to set an intriguing second-round clash between the siblings.
Francisco, seeded fifth, ousted Italian Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-4 after fending off seven of the eight break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The match was suspended due to rain after the first set, but the 26-year-old wasted no time upon resumption to advance at the ATP 250. Cerundolo struck 28 winners to Darderi’s six.
“It’s always difficult when it rains. You have to stay the whole day in the club,” Cerundolo said in relief. “We arrived at like 11 a.m. and we finished around 11 p.m., like 12 hours here: playing, going in, going out, warming up, resting. But you have to be focused, stay relaxed and be ready whenever you go on court and I think I did that today.”
The 2021 finalist will next face his brother Juan Manuel, three years his junior. The 23-year-old survived fellow qualifier Roman Andres Burruchaga 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5 in a three-hour, 30-minute battle.
Wednesday will mark the Cerundolo brothers’ first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. They clashed at the Campinas ATP Challenger Tour event in 2021, won by Francisco.
“It’s really special to play him here in Buenos Aires, in front of our people, family, friends,” Francisco said. "I mean of course it’s a tough match, but he’s brother, I don’t want to play him because one of us has to lose. But I hope all of our family enjoys it, they don’t get stressed and we can put on a show.”
Matches between brothers on the ATP Tour since 2000
| Players | Tournament |
| Francisco Cerundolo vs. Juan Manuel Cerundolo | 2025 Buenos Aires |
| Alexander Zverev d. Mischa Zverev | 2018 Washington |
| Gerald Melzer d. Jurgen Melzer | 2016 Kitzbühel |
| Olivier Rochus d. Christophe Rochus | 2000 Palermo & 2002 Wimbledon |
Sixth seed Sebastian Baez kickstarted his campaign by defeating the in-form Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4, 6-4. Baez, who led the ATP Tour in most clay wins last season (26), scored his first tour-level win since the US Open. Ugo Carabelli was fresh off a title run at last week’s Rosario Challenger.
Heavy rain postponed several matches in Argentina’s capital city, including Diego Schwartzman’s contest against seventh seed Nicolas Jarry. Schwartzman, former No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is competing in his final tournament. Eighth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry and last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion, Joao Fonseca, were also scheduled to take the court, but will now play Wednesday.
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