‘Fran’ Cerúndolo to play his first final of the year in Umag | ATP Tour

Umag

‘Fran’ Cerúndolo will play his first final of the year in Umag

On Saturday he will clash with Musetti for the title

July 26, 2024

Almost a year later, Francisco Cerúndolo will play in an ATP Tour final. The Argentine has earned a place in his first final since mid-2023 on the grass of Eastbourne — where he won the title — thanks to his victory over Andrey Rublev on the clay of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Friday.

The No. 37 in the PIF ATP Rankings, who had not appeared in a semifinal since February at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro, played a nearly flawless match in a 7-6(6), 6-4 victory over the World No. 9. It was his second win over a Top 10 player this season, and first since beating then-No. 5 Alexander Zverev in straight sets at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid.

The only break the 25-year-old right-hander suffered in the one-hour and 53-minute match came when he was leading 2-0 in the first set. Much comfort awaited him after that. In fact, the next time he faced break point opportunities was at 5-4 in the second set. ‘Fran’ saved all five in that game and ended up taking the victory.

“I’m super happy to have beaten a Top 10 player. Today was a battle against Andrey. I think I played a very good match. I was serving very well. In the last game I couldn’t make first serves, he was aggressive. But I’m very happy that I was able to overcome that very difficult game,” said ‘Fran’, who with this result ensures his return to the Top 30.

Now leading his Lexus ATP HeadToHead 2-1, Cerúndolo will contest his fifth ATP Tour final. He is 2-2 in such events, having prevailed at Bastad 2022 and Eastbourne 2023, and been runner-up at Buenos Aires 2021 and Lyon 2023.

“I am super happy to be able to play another final here. Now I have to rest, recover and try to give my best,” added Cerúndolo, who is ranked No. 28 in the live rankings. One more win would take him to No. 26 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

His opponent on the other side of the net on Saturday will be Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who is coming off a 6-4, 6-1 win over Czech Jakub Mensik. The second seed, who will also be seeking his third title on Saturday, leads Cerúndolo 1-0 since winning in the Hamburg semi-finals in 2022.