Closer to 200 km/h: ‘Fran’ Cerúndolo explains why he has one of the fastest forehands on the ATP Tour | ATP Tour

US Open

Closer to 200 km/h: Anatomy of ‘Fran’ Cerúndolo’s brutal right

The Argentine himself and his entourage discuss the potential of his shot, one of the fastest and most accelerated on the ATP Tour

August 25, 2024

Even though he arrives at this US Open without a win on hard courts since March in Miami, a deep run by Francisco Cerúndolo in a Grand Slam is never out of the question. Among other things because he has already achieved it (he reached the round of 16 on two occasions), and because of a weapon in his repertoire capable of intimidating anyone: his forehand.

In fact, thanks to having one of the most powerful shots on the circuit today, Cerúndolo has heard several times how this shot from his repertoire has been compared to that of one of the legends of his country: Juan Martín del Potro. “Yes, yes, I have been told that several times because we both hit it hard,” says ‘Fran’, and adds modestly: “But I am not going to put myself at his level.”

“Hopefully one day I can have the precision he had with his forehand. He would hit one and almost win the point. Hopefully I can continue to improve mine and reach the levels he reached to improve my tennis, my ranking and win more things,” says the No. 29 in the rankings.

Fantastic! ⚡️@FranCerundolo | @BNPPARIBASOPEN pic.twitter.com/yHx4Xigdw7

— ATP Tour in Spanish (@ATPTour_ES) March 11, 2024

Modesty aside, it is not strange that the comparison of both shots is repeated these days, which mark 15 years since Del Potro became US Open champion. The feat of the Tandil native is in the air at this edition of the US Open, and in the questions of journalists to Argentine tennis players who compete like Cerúndolo.

The comparison is certainly more valid if it is made in terms of speed. While his has more spin, and the former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings’ was flatter, both balls fly like few others. For example, a month ago, on the way to the title in Umag, ‘Fran’ had an average speed on his forehand during the tournament of 129 km/h, surpassing the ATP Tour average at that time of 117 km/h, according to Tennis Insights.

This way to close the game 🏆🤩 @FranCerundolo | @CroatiaOpenUmag | #CroatiaOpenUmagpic.twitter.com/vAR9r1Q72m

— ATP Tour in Spanish (@ATPTour_ES) July 27, 2024

Del Potro himself notes the quality of ‘Fran’ in this shot, and admits that he sees sparks of himself in his compatriot’s game. When he visited the Mutua Madrid Open this year, he was asked which Argentines on the current ATP Tour reminded him of his game, and the Tandil native chose two: “Tommy [Etcheverry] and ‘Fran’ [Cerúndolo] because they play very hard. They have something similar to my game,” he said and emphasized ‘Fran’ because “he has a very good right.”

And with this shot he not only launches missiles (in Indian Wells 2023 he hit one of 190 kilometers against Jack Sock, according to Tennis Insights), he is also a winners machine (he hit more than 40 against Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros this year). And he can also cause discomfort with spin. In Umag, for example, he averaged 2,908 revolutions per minute on the forehand during the week, surpassing the 2,708rpm of the Tour in general at that time.

The most surprising thing about these numbers is that he achieves them without being one of the tallest and strongest tennis players on the circuit. “It’s natural. I’m not a huge guy or one with a lot of strength, but tennis isn’t like that either, because you can see Sinner and he’s skinny and he breaks the ball, he hits it really hard. I think that in his case and in mine it’s nature, fluidity,” adds ‘Fran’.

Another merit of this shot is the little effort he uses to execute it, in contrast to cases such as Andrey Rublev or Alexander Zverev. Each missile from ‘Fran’ seems to not exhaust his reserves at all. “He does everything with a movement that is very natural on his part. It is a looseness that he achieves very easily and in moments of the match when there is a lot of tension,” explains his coach Kevin Konfederak.

While his attitude when hitting denotes calm, his wrist generates a key acceleration in the result, according to Konfederak himself. “Right now the game is played very fast on the circuit. Even so, ‘Fran’ can generate more speed. It’s incredible. Very few can generate that acceleration, that speed and then have control,” adds Konfederak.

Monday at the US Open, against Austrian Sebastian Ofner, will be a new opportunity to prove it.