2023-05-17 00:58:02
ROME (AP) — Francisco Cerundulo rallied for the third straight round at the Italian Open, this time defeating local favorite Jannik Sinner.
The Argentine prevailed on Tuesday 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 once morest the world number eight in the Campo Centrale of the Foro Italico, settling in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 tournament.
Cerúndolo — 31st in the ranking — tied his third victory once morest an ATP Top 10 and left his record once morest Sinner at 2-2.
“This is one of the most important victories of my career. It was a great match”, said Cerúndulo. “Jannik is one of the best in the world.”
“Winning a match like this, with the people once morest us in Italy makes me feel very good regarding my tennis,” added the 24-year-old Argentine. “Hopefully he can help me and give me that confidence that I need a little more to beat this type of player more constantly and be able to fight in all the tournaments in the last rounds.”
His next opponent will be the Norwegian Casper Ruud, the fourth seed. Cerundulo leads 2-1 in the record between the two, including a win on clay in Barcelona last month.
“I want to keep improving,” Cerundulo said. “I’m working hard for that. Hopefully I can move up the rankings and break into the Top 20 this year, and then continue to grow.”
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