Cerundolo se quedó solo en la pista y ahora apunta a los dulces

Cerundolo took the ball, crossed the court with a confident step and sent Martin Damm to the net. There was no room for a third set. The Porteño won 6-4 and 7-6 (4) in an hour and 35 minutes to reach the quarterfinals of the Brussels ATP 250. The gesture was simple, but the message was clear: this tournament belongs to him.

A difficult opponent, a decisive tie-break

Damm recovered a break in the second set and forced the tie-break. Cerundolo leaned on his serve, kept his composure and closed the match at the right moment. After years of watching tennis on courts where every point seems to last a lifetime, I can say this was a win with nerve. Not because it was easy, but because it came when the match was still tied.

“Estoy muy contento con la victoria porque Martin es un rival muy difícil. Tiene mucha potencia, un gran saque, grandes golpes, así que sabía que iba a ser muy duro.”Francisco Cerundolo

The victory is the Porto's eighth of the season. Before Brussels, he had reached the quarterfinals in Buenos Aires, Santiago, Miami, Munich, Queen's, Los Cabos and Beijing. In Buenos Aires and Queen's he went one step further and took the title. That path matters: it is not a surprise appearance in the quarterfinals, but the continuation of a solid campaign.

His numbers on indoor hard courts also carry weight. Cerundolo has 25 wins and 19 defeats on that surface, the best record among Argentinians in the Top 100. He reached the indoor quarterfinals for the fourth time, after Gijon in 2022, Almaty in 2024 and Belgrade in 2024. In other words, there is no surprise in his presence here. The surprise would be for someone else to stop him.

• Friday's opponent: the Frenchman Clement Chidekh, ranked 152nd.
• Chidekh came through the qualifying round and defeated Britain's Jacob Fearnley, ranked 87th, in two sets.
• Cerundolo is preparing for another short, demanding match. The indoor hard court leaves little space for errors.

Meanwhile, the Argentinian team had a rough day elsewhere. Mariano Navone fell in Brussels against the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, 7-6 (4) and 7-5. Tomas Etcheverry lost in the first round of Almaty against the Italian Mattia Bellucci, 7-6 (5), 2-6 and 6-4, in a match that lasted more than two and a half hours. Facundo Diaz Acosta also fell in Almaty, against the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-2 and 6-4. Sebastian Baez had been eliminated on Tuesday.

So the field narrowed and Cerundolo became the only Argentinian still in competition this week. That is both a privilege and a responsibility. The next match is against Chidekh, and there is no room for daydreaming. A left-handed rival, a fast indoor court and another quarterfinal await. I will be watching that first serve. Friday will tell.