Luciana Aranguiz
02/15/2020 - 19:52
- Clarín.com
- sports
The Argentina Open will stay again wanting to crown a local champion. The honor of having been the last celestial and white tennis player to lift the trophy on the brick dust of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis will continue to be, at least for another year, David Nalbandian, winner in 2008. Because this Saturday, shortly after Knowing the retirement of Diego Schwartzman, Juan Ignacio Londero lost in the semifinals 4-6, 7-5 and 6-1 against the Norwegian Casper Ruud, eighth preclassified, and the tournament was left without national representatives.
The sun hit hard when Cordoba, 69 ° of the ranking, went out to the court to look for the pass to the final. During the meeting, the thermal sensation exceeded 30 degrees. And the heat didn't help. Because after a very solid start, the Argentine began to lose energy and feel discomfort in his legs. And the match was made uphill.
Londero took without much trouble the first set, after getting a break in the third game to get 2-1 and then keep that small advantage until the end with a good service game.
The Cordoba kept the intensity at the start of the second set. With a new break , he went 5-3 and had the chance to take off to seal the victory. Then everything changed. A little on the merit of Ruud, who pressed more and more. But also because the physical problems diminished the momentum of the Argentine.
Ruud will go for the title against the Portuguese Sousa. Photo Press Argentina Open
The Norwegian, 45 ° of the ranking, recovered the break and in the 12th game, before a Londero that could not move around the court, he made another break and took the set.
"I can't do it anymore. If I continue to cramp," Londero repeated to his bank again and again at the break before the third chapter, while waiting for the return of Ruud, who had gone to the bathroom. His team reached what appeared to be an energizing drink, but the Cordoba, sitting in his chair, head down, made gestures of denial. Likewise, he jumped on the court again for the decisive chapter.
Ruud took the first game of that set and in the next, he went 0-40 before a Londero to which the legs seemed not to respond. Then the Cordoba had a break when the game stopped because two spectators broke down by heat in different sectors of the gallery.
It was nothing but a scare. Because while Ruud ran from side to side of the court to reach them bottles of water - a gesture very applauded by people - and Londero also sent them some energy drinks - the Cordoba asked a person from the public to take them, another sign of what it cost him to move-, the paramedics attended to the two fans and escorted them out of the stadium.
Heat and physical discomfort limited Londero, who came to get for the game in the second set and ended up losing in the third Photo EFE / Fabián Mattiazzi
The stop served the Argentine a bit, which came back a little more loose and saved two set points. But Ruud converted the third, won his seventh game in a row and almost sentenced the game.
Londero drew strength from where he didn't have to try to turn history. He won one more game with his serve, but Ruud broke again in the sixth game to get ahead 5-1 and then sealed the win and the pass to the final, the second of his career.
This Sunday at 15 will go for his first title against the Portuguese Pedro Sousa, the unexpected finalist. Number 145 of the ranking, Sousa, 31, accessed the main draw as lucky loser and surpassed Argentine Facundo Díaz Acosta, Slovak Jozef Kovalik and Brazilian Thiago Monteiro before receiving the pass to his first ATP final due to the loss of Schwartzman .