Miami Masters 1000 Day 4: Francisco Cerúndolo debuted with solid win and qualified

Francis Cerundolo advanced to the third round of the Miami Masters 1000, which is played on hard courts and offers 8.8 million dollars in prize money, beating the American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-4. will be presented later Sebastián Báez and Tomás Etcheverry.

In the match that opened the day on court 7 of the Hard Rock Stadium complex in Miami Gardens, Cerúndolo, 24 years old and 31st in the ATP ranking, got away with it from the start against an opponent of the same age and 102nd in the world ranking. Two breaks in the third and seventh game of the first set gave her a reassuring lead. Although Kovacevic broke serve in the eighth, the porteño closed the chapter, after 44 minutes of play, with a very deep drive that left his rival nailed.

In the second, a bit more balanced, the Argentinian kept the lead, built up his lead with another opportune break in the seventh game and never gave a chance to the New Yorker, who entered the main draw as lucky loser. An ace, his fourth in the match, allowed him to close the match after one hour and 22 minutes.

Having advanced without playing the first round thanks to his seeded status, Cerúndolo made a decisive first step in a race that saw him as a semi-finalist last year (fell to Norwegian Casper Ruud). His next opponent will come from the match between the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (6th) and the Brazilian Thiago Monteiro (81st).

Subsequently, two of the other three Argentines still in the race will take the field. Around 2pm and also on pitch 7, the from Buenos Aires Sebastian Baez (33rd) He will make his debut against the Chilean Cristian Garín (82nd). And not before 18:00 on court 1, the player from La Plata Tomas Martin Etcheverry (73rd)who began with a victory over the Russian Pavel Kotov (117th), will face another Russian, Karen Khachanov (16th).

The other compatriot who continues the race is Diego Schwartzman from Buenos Aires. He small38th in the world rankings, on Friday he beat the Chinese Wu Yibing (64th) and will play in the next instance with the Danish Holger Rune (8th), winner of the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics (74th).