Roland Garros: Francisco Cerúndolo and Tomás Etcheverry, the new faces of a singular Argentine phenomenon

PARIS.- Francisco Cerundolo y Thomas Etcheverry eleven months have passed. The porteño was born in August 1998; El Plata, in July 1999. They have known each other since they were very young, from the moment they began to develop their sporting desires. Tomás trained for years at the academy run by Alejandro “Toto” Cerúndolo, Fran’s father (and also Juan Manuel’s, of course). They shared an innumerable number of practices. In August 2020, when some borders began to open during the pandemic, Etcheverry, the Cerúndolo brothers and Andrés Dellatorre, Juanma’s coach at the time, traveled to Europe to try to play after five months of inactivity. Both Fran and Tommy were outside the top 230; Those were other times, in which both struggled to get closer to the ATP circuit.

In August 2021, on the clay of the Cordenons Challenger, Italy, Francisco and Tomás played the final. The first, being 119th in the ranking and trained by Walter Grinovero (now Etcheverry’s current coach), defeated the second with authority, then 148th, 6-1, 6-2. Far from feeling uncomfortable, during the celebration they posed with their arms around each other for the photos. Later, a post from Etcheverry was quite premonitory: “Another great week ends for me. Today it was not possible in the final. Congratulations to a great friend who gave me tennis, @francerundolo, it is very nice to play a final, since we were 9 years old we have been fighting for these moments to come and hopefully many more will come.” The man from La Plata sighed for new chapters of joy for both of them and together. Boy did those moments come during the current French Open. The two reached, for the first time, the second week of a Grand Slam.

The blessed Argentine tennis that presents economic limitations, infrastructure problems (the historical absence of a national center, for example) and geographical distance from the great poles, did it again. There is a link between France and Argentina; a cultural, architectural, sports link. Roland Garros is the most special Grand Slam for Argentines. Although there were conquests at the US Open and in Australia, and Wimbledon finals, the clay of Paris has no emotional comparison for the national rackets. A large part of the Argentines prepare their calendar based on playing at Roland Garros. That’s how it was before, and that’s how it is now, when two pieces of the new generation shine in the Bois de Boulogne.

This Monday, Cerúndolo and Etcheverry will seek to advance to the quarterfinals of the second Grand Slam of the year. Both will play in the Suzanne Lenglen, the second stadium in the tournament hierarchy (visually, the best for spectators). First, Francisco (23rd seed) will play, in the second turn (around 8 in Argentina), against one of the wonder children of the tour, the Danish Holger Rune (6th). And in the fourth turn Etcheverry will do it: against Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan; 27th).

National tennis always seems to reinvent itself with stainless banners: rich raw material, creativity, sacrifice, a classic school of coaches, contagion and the desire to progress. Cerúndolo and Etcheverry became the 18th and 19th Argentines to advance to the round of 16 at Roland Garros since 2000. In fact, Argentina has the second largest number of players to achieve this record during that period, only surpassed by Spain, with 24. It is also the first time that our country has two players under 25 years of age in the the last 16 of a major since the US Open 2005, with Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian. Wow, what Cerúndolo and Etcheverry have achieved in this Parisian spring is valuable.

“I’ve been playing to the shots, having a great year and I have a lot of faith for the match with Rune ”, warned Cerúndolo, who in the live ranking ensures that he climbs three positions to the 20th step (his best historical position). His record against Top 10 players is 6 wins and 7 losses, but 5-2 if only the matches played on clay are taken into account. It will be the first meeting between the porteño and the Dane on the big circuit, although the Argentine beat him on the Challenger Tour (the second professional division) in Manerbio, Italy, in 2019, 7-6 (7-4) and 6- 0, when Rune was only 16 years old and far from his current status, as number 6 in the ranking and finalist this year at the Masters 1000 in Rome and Monte Carlo, and winner of the ATP 250 in Munich.

Etcheverry, who won his three matches in Paris without losing sets against British Jack Draper, Australian Alex De Minaur (18th) and Croatian Borna Coric (15th), is going for more. “The tournament is open, I am going to continue enjoying every day and I am fully prepared for the next game. It’s an incredible feeling I have. I have prepared my whole life for this, I came looking for it now, in my best year, and I feel that I am playing great games”, highlighted Etcheverry, who is 1.96 meters tall, and who has already ensured that he is among the 40 best in the world. for the first time at the end of the tournament. That virtual wish of 2021, that of “hopefully there will be many more moments to come”, came true. The contagion effect mobilizes: Fran and Tommy are examples of this.