Cincinnati Masters 1000: different luck for Diego Schwartzman and Francisco Cerúndolo

The first Argentine presentations in Cincinnati Masters 1000 had a peculiarity: developments reflected in the matches of Diego Schwartzman (16th ATP), passed to the second round, and Francisco Cerúndolo (27th), eliminated by the Spaniard Roberto Bautista. There is still the presence of Sebastián Báez (35th) against the American Taylor Fritz in the tournament that marks the reappearance on the circuit of the Spanish Rafael Nadal.

They started almost at the same time and in this way the differences between the two were also noticed. First because Peque, with a discomfort in his left shoulder, lost the first set 7-5 with the Slovak alex molcan (39th), while the eldest of the Cerúndolo brothers won 7-6, with a minimum distance of 7-5 in the tie break.

The comeback, therefore, appeared on the pitch where Schwartzman played but not on pitch 3, where he was the person who started it. Roberto Bautista Agut, number 19 in the standings, who eventually won 6-7, 6-4 and 6-2 in 2 hours and 39 minutes.

In that second set where the Spaniard was 3-0, the porteño was 5-2 until protests against his physiotherapist -because he didn’t have enough gel for his battered shoulder- they made him lose his service. But it was just that, a slight comeback by the Slovak, who ended up losing him 6-4, the same result obtained by Bautista.

The final set was resolved in the same way, although on the one hand there was an Argentine victory and on the other not. Despite some problems maintaining his serve early in the third set, Peque took advantage of Molcan’s mistakes and began serving for the 5-2 match, which he ultimately scored with two consecutive aces to close his win in two hours and 36 minutes, while Cerúndolo saw how his options dwindled in front of an inexhaustible Bautista at 34.

Without the champion Bastad in the race, the one who will try to reach Schwartzman will be the loser of that final, Sebastián Báez. On Tuesday, this year’s winner in Estoril will have a difficult debut against American server Taylor Fritz (13), winner of the 2022 of the Indian Wells Master 1000 and Eastbourne ATP.

If passed, Báez will play his next match against Australian Nick Kyrgios (37) or Spanish Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (36), while Schwartzman will face Russian Aslan Karatsev (38), winner of American Brandon, in the next round Nakashima (63).

The most awaited: the return of Nadal

The tournament, meanwhile, still lacks the presentation of Nadal, who included this tournament as part of the hardcourt tour before the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year to be played in New York on August 29.

The 36-year-old Manacor-born and world number 3 player, recovering from an abdominal injury suffered in the Wimbledon semi-finals last month, will make his second round debut, as will title favorite, Russian Daniil Medvedev (1st).

The Cincinnati Masters 1000, which in 2021 was won by the German Alexander Zverev (2), absent from the current edition due to an injury at Roland Garros, has been held since the 1968 edition, distributes prizes of $ 6,971,275 and the his The top winner is Swiss Roger Federer, who has won the trophy seven times: 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015