Francisco Cerúndolo feels comfortable on the concrete in Miami and looks to give it another shot

The cement of Miami Masters 1000 it suits you very well Francis Cerundolo. in the fields of Hard Rock Stadium, the man from Buenos Aires had two unforgettable weeks last year, in which he surprised by reaching the semifinals in his main-draw debut of a tournament in this category. And in that same scenario, in recent days he has celebrated three consecutive victories for the first time this year. This Thursday, he will go for the fourth in a row, to get back in the top four of the contest, against Karen Khachanova.

“If I continue as I played, I have confidence”, said the world number 31, about the duel he will play with the Russian, 16th in the standings. “He is a very complete player. He is very tall, serves very well and hits very hard. In addition, he defends very well, counterattacks for a long time, carries many balls, likes to fight, make war. He played very well, but I’m leaving to focus on my game.”

Khachanov will be a very tough opponent and he already knows how to beat Cerúndolo. He did it in the only duel they’ve played before, in the first round of the Masters 1000 Montreal last year, when he won 7-6 (7-4), 5-7 and 6-3. But the Argentine is in a great moment, as he demonstrated in his match against him in the round of 16 Lorenzo Soneowhich ended up being as much a mental test as tennis was.

Is that Tuesday’s rain delayed his game for several hours and ended up being played on a different pitch than expected. In addition, the Italian got off to a much better start and took advantage of Francisco’s doubts, which was very erratic at the beginning, to win the first set 6-3. But the man from Buenos Aires, who had a hard time getting used to the kick of the ball, reacted in time and won the next two matches 6-3 and 6-2.

The victory was Cerúndolo’s third in the tournament. After being released in the opening round, he made his debut with a 6-4 and 6-4 against the locals Alexander Kovacevic, lucky loser. And then he beat the Canadian 6-2 and 7-5 Felix Auger-Aliassimenumber six in the world, and scored his first win on hard courts against a top 10 player.

“This celebration is undoubtedly among the most important of my career”he commented after getting his revenge on the Canadian, who had won their two matches previously and had a streak of six Masters 1000, reaching at least the quarterfinals.

Last year, Cerúndolo landed in Miami as 103rd in the world and without much expectation. But it was the big surprise of the contest. He had five victories against players ranked in the top 60 and reached the semifinals. In that case he couldn’t Casper Ruudbut that performance was the impetus that led him, a few months later, to win his first crown, in enough.

In this 2023 the porteño did not get off to a good start. After losing in the third round of Australia (just before Auger-Aliassime), retired in the quarterfinals of Cordobaat the start of the brick dust tour, due to a right adductor problem he had suffered the previous week in the match against Finland in Espoo for the Qualifiers of the Davis Cup. Subsequently, he lost rooms in Buenos Aires; in eighths in Rio de Janeiro; at his debut in Santiago de Chile; and in the third round of Indian Wells.

But in Miami he seems to have found his best level again. Will the Florida tournament once again score a click in its season, as it did in 2022?