First step done: Cerúndolo had no trouble in Munich | OneFootball

Francisco Cerúndolo (19th in the world rankings) had no trouble at all in his debut at the ATP 500 in Munich, where his opponent changed at the last minute. Initially, the elder of the brothers was set to face local player Jan-Lennard Struff (81st), who was unable to play, and was replaced by Indian Sumit Nagal (292nd) as a lucky loser. The difference in class showed, and the Argentine claimed a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

The top South American player in the rankings arrived in Germany after an inconsistent run at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, where he won his debut against Stefanos Tsitsipas but later fell in straight sets to Czech player Tomas Machac. After that, Cerúndolo is looking to find some good form, especially with Madrid coming up, where he will have to defend the semifinals he reached in 2025.

Four breaks by Francisco, two in each set, were enough to secure his 16th victory of the season, a year in which he won the ATP Buenos Aires and reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. He has also suffered seven defeats. Another key to the win was saving all eight break points he faced, which kept Nagal from getting into the match.

Looking to recover the points from last year’s semifinals in Munich, Cerúndolo is already into the round of 16, where he will face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (49th), who is coming off a comfortable win over Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Huesler (340th). The head-to-head between them stands at 2-0 in Francisco’s favor.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.