Fran Cerúndolo plays perfect tennis, beats Darderi, into Madrid last 16 | OneFootball

A perfect day at the office for Francisco Cerúndolo (20th in the world ranking) in the third round of the Madrid Open. And when he plays like this, he is a real threat to everyone on the professional circuit: this time, the one who suffered was his friend Luciano Darderi (22nd), whom he defeated with a convincing 6-2, 6-3 win to book his place in the round of 16.

From the start of the match, the Argentine was already showing a high level, quickly breaking Darderi’s serve, an advantage he would not let slip away. In fact, he would extend it: another break in the eighth game gave him the first set. Not before a viral moment from Luciano, who had technology go against him when he disagreed with one of its calls.

In the second, and decisive, chapter, everything followed the same pattern as the previous set. A fired-up Cerúndolo once again broke Luli’s serve and confirmed his outstanding day: he hit eight aces and did not give his opponent any chances to recover the deficit.

In this way, looking to defend the semifinals he reached in 2025 at the Caja Mágica, Francisco avenged his brother (who lost to Darderi in the second round) and once again booked his place among the tournament’s last 16. In the next round, for a place in the quarterfinals, he awaits the winner of the match between Felix Auger-Aliassime (5th) and Alexander Blockx (69th)

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