Francisco Cerúndolo, the current number one in national tennis, played at a very high level and reached the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open, after defeating Spanish Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-1 in the shortest match of the tournament.
Cerúndolo, ranked 30th in the ATP world ranking, exhibited a superlative level and eliminated Munar (67th) after an hour and 11 minutes of play on the central court of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, before some three thousand spectators who witnessed the game on a day with drizzle and wind.
The 23-year-old and champion last year in Bastad, Sweden, will play his next match this Friday in the quarterfinals against the winner of the cross between his compatriot Diego Schwartzman (32nd) and the Spanish Bernabé Zapata Miralles (74th). .
Cerúndolo, who had suffered to eliminate the German Yannick Hanfmann (134th) in three sets in the initial round, played his best match of the year and overwhelmed the Spaniard, who was not even remotely the one who had beaten Guido from Bahia last Monday Pella (723°).
The winner played an excellent first set, with a deep and heavy forehand he overwhelmed the Spaniard on all sides, and took the first lead with a break to lead 3-2, then returned to seize Munar’s serve and stretched to 5-2 to close the partial 6-2.
In the second set, Cerúndolo continued to punish with his forehand and comfortably won his service game, against an opponent who could not contain him, so he broke two more times to go up 4-0 and leave victory within reach.
“It was a game in which I played very well, the ball moved a lot because of the wind and I think I had patience to wait for the chances that I had. I felt really good on clay, something that had not happened to me last week in Córdoba”, analyzed Cerúndolo.
“I feel better physically, the discomfort is behind me and that allowed me to play looser. I was able to prevail and the tactic I had planned went perfectly, I think the level I showed leaves me very confident for what’s to come,” he added.
