Cerúndolo wins a great match against Musetti and the title in Umag | ATP Tour

Umag

Cerúndolo wins a great match against Musetti and the title in Umag

The Argentine had not been a champion since Eastbourne 2023

July 27, 2024

Francisco Cerúndolo won one of the most special titles of his career on Saturday, especially for the way he won the championship match. Facing Italian Lorenzo Musetti, No. 17 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the Argentine won 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to claim his first title of the year.

The No. 37 in the rankings, who was coming off a Friday win over the tournament’s top seed, No. 9 Andrey Rublev, not only came back from 0-1 down in sets but also struggled from start to finish against an opponent who entered the court leading 1-0 in the Lexus ATP HeadToHead between the two.

Nothing went well for ‘Fran’, who squandered a 3-1 lead in the second set, but forced a decider thanks to a break at 5-4. In the decider he had to suffer more. He saved multiple break points at 1-1 and 3-3, and lost his serve at 4-4.

However, the second seed failed to take advantage of his chance to serve for the championship or his 3/1 advantage in the final tie-break. ‘Fran’ hit three winners from 3/3 and showed a solidity that, after three hours of play, ended Musetti’s hopes of a third ATP Tour title, and his first of the year.

“It was an incredible battle,” Cerúndolo said after beating the Wimbledon semifinalist, who now has a 15-4 record since the start of the grass-court season. “Lorenzo has played excellent tennis the last month. He’s probably one of the players who has won the most matches on the Tour, so I knew tonight was going to be very difficult.”

“I don’t know how I recovered. I fought until the last point and, luckily, I won the match. I am very proud because it was a very tough battle.”

The Argentine, who was also seeking his third ATP title and his first of the year, thus becomes the first Argentine champion of this event since Guillermo Coria in 2005. In addition, this result will allow him to appear from Monday at No. 26 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

This is Fran’s first title since the one he won in mid-2023 on the Eastbourne grass. He now has a 3-2 record in championship matches, a round in which he also managed to win at Bastad 2022.

The next challenge for both will be the Paris Olympics. “We both have to play tomorrow night,” Cerúndolo said. “I don’t know how we will do it. I’m tired, I don’t know how he is. But tomorrow is going to be very difficult for both of us because we won’t sleep tonight, probably two or three hours because we have an early flight tomorrow.”