Without a super figure on the circuit – as Juan Martín Del Potro turned out above all for more than a decade or even Diego Schwartzman himself when he was top ten between the end of 2020 until almost mid-2021, a period in which he even reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam – Argentine men's tennis had already given a powerful warning on his arrival at Roland Garros to become the third highest representative in the draw with ten players behind France (the local was favored with the logical wild cards and reached 19 players) and the United States (16).
Even after the first round, the seven winning compatriots gave the country the first place in that list shared with Italy, whose growth in recent times is remarkable and evident. But now, with the third round complete, the second Grand Slam of the season offers another stark piece of evidence: Argentina is the country with the most players among the 32 left on the road.
Schwartzman, who had achieved the passage on Wednesday and who this Friday will face the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, was joined by Francisco Cerúndolo, Tomás Etcheverry and Genaro Olivieri, one of the maximum revelations about the most famous brick dust in the world.
Diego Schwartzman plays this Friday against Stefanos Tsitsipas. Photo: EFE
Italy and the United States, with three players each, were second in that statistic that affirms a lot. And it says that in Bois de Boulogne the tennis of our country is more alive than ever.
Without that mega star that he knew how to have in other times (starting with Guillermo Vilas, the most right-handed left-hander, of course) but with a significant number of players does not stop attracting attention.
Francisco Cerúndolo, the best-ranked Argentine, is going for more. Photo: AFP
The secret of your tennis
What's the secret? Beyond technical or physical issues, the contagion effect stands out. "If he could, why couldn't I?" many ask and answer each other almost at the same time. It happened, above all, in the years of the best generation. The one that put Gaudio, Nalbandian and Coria at the top. They did it first. And the rest followed.
Then Olivieri will have asked himself the same question: "If Cerúndolo, who was not even close to the best of our litter, is already an important protagonist of the circuit with relevant triumphs, titles won and semifinals of a Masters 1000, for example, why could I not reach that same place?" This is just one example. There are many more.
Cerúndolo beat German Yannick Hanfmann, 65th in the world, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, Etcheverry beat Australian Alex de Minaur (19th), 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) and 6-3 and Olivieri eliminated Italian Andrea Vavassori, 148 from the planet and also coming from the classification, 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-4 and 7-6 (7-3). Now they will face the American Taylor Fritz, the Croatian Borna Coric and the Danish Holger Rune respectively, to see if – like Schwartzman – they pass the filter of the first week and manage to get into the second, one of the great objectives of most players in any Grand Slam.
Tomás Martín Etcheverry added a triumph against a top 20 like Alex de Minaur. Photo: EFE/EPA/TERESA SUAREZ
It is clear that the four survivors have different aptitudes. With its virtues and its defects. Cerúndolo and Etcheverry represent the prototype of the modern player, with a good physique, with powerful shots from the back of the court and with a serve that hurts.
On the other hand, Schwartzman and Olivieri – even with their different experiences since the Bragadense had not even played a main draw of an ATP before arriving at Roland Garros – are the symbol of those who have to look for in their return of serve, in their solidity from the back of the court, in their leg speed and in their tactical intelligence. (they have more than enough with both virtues) the arguments to make up for the small stature – both measure 1.70 meters – and, therefore, the lower power they have in their strokes with respect to most of their colleagues.
Genaro Alberto Olivieri lives a fairy tale in Paris. Photo: EFE/EPA/CAROLINE BLUMBERG
Beyond that, the truth is that Argentina returned to talk in the World Cup tennis of brick dust. With the utopia of winning the title, it is the first time at least four Argentines have advanced to the third round of Roland Garros since 2012. It took 11 years for Cerúndolo, Etcheverry, Schwartzman and Olivieri to take over from Del Potro, Juan Monaco, Leonardo Mayer and Eduardo Schwank. That is another more than interesting reason to celebrate.
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