Cerúndolo into last 16, 'Argentomania' at Australian Open 2026 | OneFootball

The third time was the charm for Francisco Cerúndolo! The world No. 21 finally managed to break through the third-round barrier at the Australian Open, this time defeating Andrey Rublev (No. 15). The score was 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in 2 hours and 8 minutes of play.

The 27-year-old tennis player, who was ranked No. 18 in the world last season and owns 3 titles (Bastad, Eastbourne, and Umag), began his season with an early loss at the ATP 250 in Adelaide against Spain’s Jaume Munar. But that stumble was quickly left behind as soon as he set foot in Melbourne Park.

Seeded eighteenth in the men’s draw, he got off to a strong start with a solid performance against China’s Zhizhen Zhang (6-3, 7-6 (0), 6-3). Then, to reach the third round of the tournament once again, he repeated the feat by convincingly defeating Damir Dzumhur (6-3, 6-2, 6-1).

In search of his first round of 16 appearance on Australian soil, he faced a familiar opponent in the third round: Andrey Rublev. Coming into the match, the South American led their head to head 3-1, with the most recent meeting taking place at the 2024 Paris Masters 1000. However, despite the several chapters of their rivalry, this was a completely new context as it was their first encounter at a Grand Slam.

Cerúndolo’s strategy, which he revealed days earlier when he learned the Russian would be his next opponent, was clear: take control of the point quickly, preventing the other side from doing the same. He succeeded, serving with 49% effectiveness on his first serve, hitting 30 winners, winning 5 out of 10 points at the net, and converting 3 out of 6 break point opportunities.

The protégé of Pablo Cuevas is the first Argentine to reach this stage of the tournament since Diego Schwartzman did so in 2020, just before the start of the last pandemic.

Making his debut in the round of 16 at Melbourne Park, he now awaits Germany’s Alexander Zverev (No. 3).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.