ATP Cordoba: with the support of the world champion, Burruchaga strikes and eliminates Schwartzman in the first round

Román Burruchaga will never forget this Tuesday, February 6, 2024. Not just because his father Jorge – champion of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico when he was not yet born – was present accompanying him to his debut in a main draw of the ATP professional circuit, but also because he did it with a sensational triumph: He knocked Diego Schwartzman, eighth in the world, out of the tournament in the first round and extended his losing streak.

Burruchaga, 22 years old and number 170 in the world ranking, needed four match points to win 6-1, 4-6 and 6-4 in two hours and 18 minutes of play on the central field of the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium in the capital of Córdoba.

“I’m very happy with the victory, against a rival like Diego. My dad came to visit me with my team, he was suffering a bit. The idea is to climb the rankings as much as possible, learning, training and improving, and then the results arrive”he acknowledged.

Regarding the match, he analyzed: “I was controlling the match well, but it’s never easy to close the match. I learned from the second set, it almost happened to me in the third, but I managed to close it and I’m very happy to have won”.

The winner now awaits the winner of the cross between the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas (85) and German Yannick Hanfmann (59).

And Schwartzman, who hasn’t won an ATP match since October 2023, when he beat Fran Cerúndolo in the first round of the ATP 500 in Tokyo, also spoke. “Off the pitch I’m very good, but on the pitch it’s hard for me, I mustn’t reverse the situation. There are several reasons that don’t make me play at the level I had. It’s a long series, except for a few months at the end of the season. last year” Today I repeated it but I don’t want to go into too much detail about mine. I want to congratulate Román, who was with his father, which is very important for Argentina and for me who am a big football fan.”He explained.

The emotion of Federico Coria

The one who managed to cut a negative streak was the man from Rosario Federico Coria who beat the German Daniele Altmaier by 5-7, 6-3 and 6-4 in the opening round of the ATP 250 Córdoba Open, which distributes prizes of $640,705.

Rosario, 93rd in the ATP ranking and second in the 2023 edition, recovered after losing the first set, in which he was ahead 5-3 and with the serve in his favor, and finally beat the 52nd in the world in two hours and 45 minutes of play.

It took almost seven months for the younger brother of Guillermo Coria, current captain of the Albiceleste in the Davis Cup, to be able to celebrate at ATP level, after ‘dropping’ to the Challengers where he had won titles and finals.

On the next occasion, “Fefo”, 31 years old, will face the Spaniard Albert Ramos Viñolas (84), who has just beaten Pedro Cachín (73) of Córdoba 6-4, 3-6 and 6-1.

The big favorite for the title at the Córdoba Open is the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo (22), who will make his debut directly in the round of 16 against the Spaniard Jaume Munar (74),

The second seed is another Argentine, Sebastián Báez (26), who is also the defending champion.

Báez, hero of the Davis Cup series with which Argentina beat Kazakhstan 3-2 at the weekend in Rosario, will make his debut in the round of 16 against Bolivian Hugo Dellien (112).