Francisco Cerúndolo and the debut match against Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon “It’s the game I wanted to play all my life”

Francisco Cerúndolo is living a dream 2022. Affirmed among the top 50 in the world ranking, the Argentine has shown his qualities week after week beyond the fact that results do not always go hand in hand. And now he is facing a “good challenge” because this Tuesday he will play the game he has waited all his life. Is that the porteño will be Rafael Nadal’s first rival at Wimbledon. Yes, you will have the pleasure of facing a legend on the All England Club center court.

“It’s the game I’ve always wanted to play all my life, it’s very special. When I saw the draw, on the one hand I was happy, because I wanted to play against him, against Federer and against Djokovic before the retirement, because I know that they don’t have many years left. On the other hand, I know it’s a very nice challenge because I’m facing one of the best in history or the best “, said Cerúndolo in dialogue with the EFE agency.

Cerúndolo comes from a family of athletes. His father is Alessandro Totò Cerúndolo, former player who ranked around 300 in the world and coach; her mother, María Luz Rodríguez, also a tennis player and psychologist; her brother, Juan Manuel is 122 in the rankings and has won an ATP tournament; while her sister Costanza is a hockey player and was even summoned by the Leonas led by Fernando Ferrara.

If anything is clear, it is that tennis can be felt at home, and Nadal, whom he congratulated on social media after his 14th win at Roland Garros, has been one of his idols since he was a child. It will be a much bigger challenge. A member of the Big three and barely played two games against the “top ten”, both of which lost in two sets.

“Being Argentines, we look a lot to the Spaniards, because they play like us, they like to play more on clay. I have all three (Djokovic, Nadal and Federer) as idols. Everyone has their own things where they are better than the others, but they are all great. Playing against a landmark, an idol, one of the best in history, will be truly special, “added Cerúndolo.

And this Tuesday Cerúndolo will also experience his Wimbledon debut, after last year he was one step away from the final draw by losing in the last qualifying round. He debuted on the surface two weeks ago, at the Queen’s Tournament, and Wimbledon will be his third Grand Slam match, and his first outside of Roland Garros. He still hasn’t managed to win in this type of tournament.

Despite his inexperience on the surface, Cerúndolo looks confident on the pitch, where only a handful of Argentines have triumphed, including Guillermo Vilas, David Nalbandian and Javier Frana. Cerúndolo explains that with his aggressive and offensive play he can adapt well to these fields and that he first realized this when he played Wimbledon qualifiers last year. “This gave me a lot of confidence that I can do well”he has declared.

“The important thing is to have fun. Because it’s a game that doesn’t touch you very often. Then you have to give it your all. I have to concentrate on playing my tennis and not think about it too much, because if you start thinking a lot about the opponent, the atmosphere, you could not being able to play, you get tense and feel very sick. Having fun and getting out and playing as much as possible is what you have to do, “he added.

In this way, Cerúndolo aspires to be the eleventh Argentine to defeat Nadal, and the second to succeed in a Grand Slam, after Juan Martín del Potro, who beat him twice at the US Open, in 2009 and 2018. Nadal’s record against the Argentines in the majors is 23 wins and two lossessomething that does not discourage Cerúndolo at all.

As for his chances of beating the Majorcan, Cerúndolo was strong and finished: “What do I know. You always enter the field to win. To get high in tennis you have to have confidence against everyone. In these matches you go out to win, but deep down you know it’s Nadal, who has the chance to win and I have the chance to lose. “

Source: EFE