The Argentine tennis players
Francisco Cerúndolo
and
Sebastián Báez
, two of the best in their country and who currently occupy places 22 and 30 in the ATP ranking, will meet this Saturday in one of the semifinals of the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro, after having won this Friday their respective commitments.
Back where he belongs 🙌@FranCerundolo defeats Lajovic 3-6 6-4 6-4 to reach the semis in Rio - and return to the top 20 of the ATP rankings!#RioOpen10Anos pic.twitter.com/juwjKlMnVh
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 23, 2024
Cerúndolo won 3-6, 6-4 and 6-4 over Serbian Dusan Lajovic in a match lasting two hours and 23 minutes, while Báez defeated Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 1-6 and 6-2 in two hours and 13 minutes.
Argentina has the possibility of having a third representative in the semis, since
Mariano Navone (113th)
still has to face the 17-year-old Brazilian
Joao Fonseca (°650)
in one of the quarterfinal matches this Friday.
Cerúndolo, the fourth seed in Rio de Janeiro, the only ATP 500 tournament in South America, achieved an important comeback after losing the first set 3-6 after the Serbian broke his serve twice.
The 25-year-old from Buenos Aires became the first semi-finalist in the tenth edition of the Rio Open.
It is the second time that he has reached this stage, since in 2022 he was eliminated in the semifinals by his compatriot Diego Schwartzman, who ended up losing the title that year to the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz.
Before getting rid of the Serbian in the quarterfinals, Cerúndolo eliminated the Spanish Albert Ramos in the round of 16 by a resounding 6-2 and 6-1 and in the first round he also eliminated the Argentine Francisco Comesaña by 6-1, 1-6 and 6-2 .
On Saturday he will try to reach his fifth final on the ATP circuit, after having won the titles in Bastad 2022 and in Eastbourne in 2023.
First ATP 500 semi-final: Unlocked 🔓@sebaabaez7 outlasts Monteiro 6-4 1-6 6-2 to book an all-Argentine date with Cerundolo!#RioOpen10Anos pic.twitter.com/KuhyCiEriB
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 23, 2024
His rival will be Báez, who, before eliminating Monteiro in the quarterfinals, beat his compatriot Facundo Díaz Acosta, who was champion of the Buenos Aires Open last Sunday, in the round of 16, 7-6, 6-3.
Báez, who had to overcome the pressure of the Brazilian fans, was much superior to Monteiro in the first round;
He suffered a downturn in the second, but managed to recover in the third by breaking the home team's serve twice in a row.
Navone, from the Buenos Aires city of 9 de Julio 22 years ago, won his first two matches in an ATP in Rio, against Rosario's Federico Coria (85) and the German Yannick Hanfmann (56).
His rival, Fonseca, beat him the only time they met, in the 2022 Sao Leopoldo Challenger.
The winner of the match will go in the semifinals against the Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild (82) or the British Cameron Norrie (23), second seeded and defending the title.