03/06/2021 3:17 PM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 03/06/2021 4:42 PM
Diego Schwartzman, top favorite of the
ATP in Buenos Aires
, dreams of celebrating his first title on Argentine soil this year.
And it is only one victory away from achieving it.
This Saturday, he crushed Serbian
Miomir Kecmanovic
, fourth-seeded and pupil of David Nalbandian from Cordoba
, in the second semifinals of the competition
, and secured a place in the final.
It was a resounding 6-0 and 6-4 for Peque, who will seek his fourth title.
The triumph of the porteño also ensured that after 13 years there will be a new local champion in Buenos Aires (the last one was Nalbandian in 2008).
Is that his rival in the decisive duel will be Francisco Cerúndolo, who in the first round beat 7-6 (7-5), 3-6 and 6-2 in a very tough match to the Spanish Albert Ramos Viñolas, fifth seeded.
"On Friday I said that in the quarterfinals I had played the best game since Roland Garros last year and in this semis it was more of the same. Luckily I was able to recover after having started half drowned in the second set and beat a player who can be very dangerous. I'm happy because I'm playing great tennis, "commented the world number nine.
Fua, the little one
🔥 @dieschwartzman 🔥 pic.twitter.com/oxdCOVaLmy
- Argentina Open (@ArgentinaOpen) March 6, 2021
"Against Francisco it will be a very difficult game, because he comes in a very good week and has nothing to lose. The nice thing is that there will be an Argentine champion after a long time. Hopefully it will be me," he said.
Relentless, the Argentine came out determined to close the game as quickly as possible and in just 20 minutes he had made an abysmal difference on the scoreboard.
With three breaks and almost no sweat, he went ahead 5-0 and was one game away from taking the first set.
Opening the ball wide and alternating the direction of his shots to make the Serbian run throughout the field, Peque set the pace and was the clear dominator of the game.
And, effective with his serve (he won ten of the eleven points he played with the first one), he closed the opening chapter with a resounding 6-0.
Kecmanovic reacted after the opening hit and started playing a bit more in the second set.
The game leveled off a bit and the Argentine superiority was no longer so evident, but Peque continued to be more.
Miomir Kecmanovic.
Photo Press Argentina Open
Patient, the porteño knew how to build the points on the serve of his rival and go up to pressure the net at the right times.
And in the fifth game, he made a break and made it 3-2.
After each point given, Kecmanovic, who at 21 is 42nd in the world ranking and is one of the young jewels of NextGen, looked at his team as if seeking an explanation for what was happening on the field.
It is that although he looked everywhere, it was difficult for him to find the weak points in the game of Peque and he could not bother him much.
He succeeded, for example, in some points of the sixth game, in which he was 30-0 up with the Argentine on serve.
Or in the eighth, when he had his first break point of the afternoon.
Schwartzman endured the moments of greatest pressure from the Serbian and was 5-3 up.
With no margin for error, Kecmanovic took to the field to defend his serve and stay alive in the match.
He did it, but the joy did not last long because Schwartzman sealed the victory in the next game, after just one hour and 22 minutes.
There will be a homegrown champion in Buenos Aires for the first time since 2008! @Dieschwartzman brushes aside Kecmanovic 6-0 6-4 to set up an all-Argentinian final v Francisco Cerundolo 🇦🇷🇦🇷 # ArgOpen2021 pic.twitter.com/ kfK7ah49H8
- Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 6, 2021
Schwartzman wants to consecrate himself for the first time in Buenos Aires, where he was a finalist in 2019, he lost to Italian
Marco Cecchinato
, and a 2020 semi-finalist, when he was left with the desire to seek the title, because he did not appear to play the semis due to a tear in the left adductor that suffered in the quarters.
Now, revenge will be taken.