For the first time since the appearance of Juan Martín del Potro, in 2008, Argentina has a tennis player under the age of 20 in the top 100 of the ATP ranking. Better said: it has two. Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, 20 years old, is in position 90. Sebastián Báez, also 20, is in position 99. Báez, from Buenos Aires from San Martín, and Cerúndolo, from Buenos Aires, have traveled the same roads for over a decade, when not they were over ten years old. They competed in categories Sub 10, juniors, Futures, Challengers and even won the Orange Bowl with different ages. This 2021 they also shared the achievement of getting among the 100 best and being the first South Americans to play the Next Generation, the youth master that the ATP organizes each season. Cerúndlo had started this year at 341. Báez, at 312. They closed him with nominations for the ATP Awards as breakthrough of the year due to his rise in the ranking. And with one more addition on the horizon: at next month’s Australian Open they will play from the main draw for the first time in a Grand Slam.
Cerúndolo’s spectacular rise in 2021 began very early in the year, when he surprised with his victory at the ATP 250 in Córdoba, in February: although he had never won a match on the ATP circuit, he had five consecutive wins and was crowned champion. In addition, this year he won three Challengers. Báez, meanwhile, accumulated six Challengers titles and reached the semifinals of the Next Generation. Baez, who was world No. 1 in juniors in 2018, right-handed, is 1.70 m tall. Cerúndolo, left-handed, measures 1.83 m. Both with two-handed backhand, they are the typical exponent of the national tennis player raised on clay courts, with a more technical than aggressive game.
If since the triumphs of Guillermo Vilas that the world has spoken of Argentine tennis as a “miracle”, this litter is excited to continue giving shape to that wonder. To these two can be added Francisco Cerúndolo (23, Juan Manuel’s brother), Thiago Tirante (20) and Román Burruchaga (19, son of the world champion soccer player in Mexico 86). “It is a really interesting litter, I love it. It reminds me of ours for that freshness and that rebellion that they have, that lack of respect in a good way. They are not afraid of anyone. The raw material that we have is enormous; That’s why I see Argentine tennis well, ”Guillermo Coria said in his presentation as the new Davis Cup captain.
When Coria says “ours” he refers to the litter that shone at the beginning of the century, with its roof in that unforgettable week at Roland Garros 2004, when David Nalbandian, Juan Ignacio Chela, Gastón Gaudio and Coria himself took the quarterfinals of that Grand Slam, which had the historical definition between Gaudio and the Magician. Now, Coria succeeded Cat in the Davis Cup captain’s chair. And he will seek to empower these new talents: last week, without ATP competition and with the players in the country, Coria took the opportunity to generate a football match of camaraderie and also to do some training with a view to the series against the Czech Republic, in March 2022. Báez and Cerúndolo appear on the radar. “I feel very close to them in age, and I know how to reach them,” said Coria, who shared a lot of virtual time with them during the quarantine, since he is an esports fanatic to the point that he has his own team.
One way to explain the appearance of that litter from the beginning of the century that marked an era in national sport, the Legion, was the competition facilities abroad that were generated during the decade in which in Argentina one peso was worth the same than a dollar. With the economic weaknesses and the few offers of tournaments in South America due to the pandemic, the context seemed to turn its back on Argentine tennis, which was clinging to the presence of Diego Schwartzman, today 13th in the world. That is why the 2021 of Báez and Cerúndolo, as Nadia Podoroska had been in 2020 for the female team, is a breeze of hope. “The prizes for the Challengers are very low and being able to win a little more money serves to invest and plan the calendar better. It is a good help. I know that this situation can motivate other South American tennis players, many more boys, “said Cerúndolo, the youngest of a family of athletes: the two tennis players are joined by Constanza, 21, who plays hockey at Las Leonas.
If something was missing to close this hopeful year for Argentine tennis with enthusiasm, last week the message from Del Potro arrived, inactive since July 2019 due to the pain in his right knee that has already taken him to the operating room four times. At 33, the Tandilense announced on Instagram. “I continue training with everything, I have better days than others, but always with the hope of returning to the field at the beginning of next year. It would be very special to return to Buenos Aires and then also play in Rio. I work with enthusiasm and effort so that we can see each other here. In the next few weeks I will tell you how I evolved, “said Del Potro, who will start the year in 755th place in the ranking. But that, it was demonstrated with Báez and Cerúndolo, can become an anecdote in a few months. «
