Francisco Cerúndolo qualified for the third round of the US Open for the first time in his career after defeating German Jan-Lennard Struff in a marathon match that ended 5-7, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, and 6-3, after three hours and 54 minutes of play.
On court 5 at Flushing Meadows, Cerúndolo, who is ranked 25th in the world, faced Struff, who is ranked 44th. The match was characterized by its parity; neither player was able to maintain solid consistency. In the first set, Struff took the lead with a score of 7-5.
The second set showed both players maintaining their game, although Cerúndolo had three break point opportunities in the seventh game that he couldn’t convert. However, in the eleventh game, he managed to break Struff’s serve and took the set 7-5, leveling the match.
Despite regaining balance, Cerúndolo faced a new challenge when Struff pulled ahead again, leading 4-3 in the third set. After a moment of frustration, which included breaking his racket, Cerúndolo recovered and dominated the fourth set 6-2. With this advantage, he reached the deciding set, where he showed determination and closed out the match with a score of 6-3.
With this victory, Cerúndolo joins Tomás Etcheverry and Mariano Navone in the third round of the US Open, marking the first time since 2018 that three Argentines have reached this stage in the tournament. Etcheverry defeated British player Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, and 6-3, and will face Navone, who also advanced after defeating Matteo Berrettini.
Nadia Podoroska, on the other hand, was eliminated from the tournament after falling to Polish player Iga Swiatek, currently 8th in the WTA rankings, with scores of 6-3 and 6-2. Despite the defeat, Podoroska returned to the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time in more than two years, since the Australian Open 2024.
With Podoroska’s elimination, there are no Argentine female players left in the Flushing Meadows event.
Source: www.infobae.com
