Francisco Cerúndolo lost and there are no Argentines left in the semifinals of Buenos Aires

He could not cut the losing streak of seven months and a dozen tournaments without reaching the semifinals. Francisco Cerúndolo lost at home against Bernabé Zapata Miralles 6-3, 6-7 (4) and 6-3 in two hours and 33 minutes in the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open, the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, on brick dust . End of the adventure in the premiere of him being the No. 1 of his country and there are no local representatives left in the race.

In his fifth participation -all in a row- in the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, the most traditional tennis tournament in South America, the eldest of the Cerúndolo brothers, number 30 in the world ranking, could not afford to advance for the second time to semifinals in front of their audience.

At the end of the quarterfinal day, at night and very cold for the Argentine summer, Francisco Cerúndolo showed many ups and downs and lost to Zapata Miralles (74th), in a duel that ended after one in the morning on Saturday . Precisely, the Spaniard came sweet after giving the big blow and eliminating Diego Schwartzman (32nd; ex-Top 10 ATP) in the second round very easily.

In his best task in Buenos Aires, Fran Cerúndolo climbed to the grand final in 2021, when he lost that decisive duel against Schwartzman, who this week gave him Argentina’s No. 1 in the international ranking in the midst of a crisis of confidence and results.

In addition to the 2021 final, the older Cerúndolo had also lost to Schwartzman in the quarterfinals 12 months ago. Now, at 24 years old, he could not overcome that instance again and Argentina was left without a local player among the best four and again there will be no local champion.

In this way, the series of six consecutive years with at least one Argentine in the semifinals of the ATP in Buenos Aires ended, with no hope of having a winner. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish No. 2 in the world, recent leader in the ranking and champion of the US Open 2022, will face Zapata Miralles for a ticket to the definition on Sunday.

A player from Argentina has barely won a title in Buenos Aires in singles in the last 14 years and now the streak extends to 15 editions. Not even Fran Cerúndolo, the best of hosts, could attempt the feat.