Australian Open
Cerúndolo performs at 4R in Melbourne for the first time
The Argentine equals his best result in a Grand Slam, after beating Rublev
January 23, 2026
IZHAR KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
Francisco Cerúndolo reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the third time in his career.
by this ATEDIDE ATP
I had never come as far in the Australian Open as in this edition. In 2025 he was close to advancing to the second week at Melbourne Park, but Alex de Minaur prevented him in the third round. A year later he has broken down his own limits, entering the round of 16 for the first time.
The Argentine beat Andrey Rublev this Friday at the Kia Arena with an incontestable performance, which he resolved in two hours and eight minutes 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3. The No. 21 of the PIF ATP Rakings, who landed in Melbourne without a victory in 2026, already has three in the first Grand Slam of the course.
And the older brother of the Cerúndolo has performed at the highest level in the first week of the tournament. No one has been able to scratch a set from him so far. Ni Zhizhen Zhang in the first round (6-3, 7-6[0]6-3), neither Damir Dzhumur in the second round (6-3, 6-2, 6-1) nor Rublev himself, seeded No. 13.
His great performance has not only helped him make his debut in a fourth round of the Australian Open, but this result allows him to equal his best mark in a tournament of this category. Previously, he had managed to enter the second week of a Grand Slam on two occasions at Roland Garros 2023 and 2024.
This Friday, Cerúndolo became the eighth Argentine who, in the Open Era, managed to advance to the fourth round of this major, along with David Nalbandian (5), Guillermo Vilas (4), Juan Martin del Potro (3), Guillermo Cañas, Guillermo Coria, Diego Schwartzman (2) and Juan Ignacio Chela (1).
🇦🇷 Enjoying on and off the track! 🇦🇷@FranCerundolo | @AustralianOpen | #AO26 pic.twitter.com/IvIxEoby3b
— ATP Tour en Español (@ATPTour_ES) January 23, 2026
To achieve this, he showed that he has the measure of Rublev, extending his lead in the Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry to four wins in five matches played head to head. This time he raised his ace count to eight and successfully scored 80% of the points he put into play with his first serve. For the rest, he managed to convert three of the six break point opportunities he had.
His next rival will be the match – currently in play – between the third favorite and finalist in the last edition, Alexander Zverev, and the British Cameron Norrie.
Did you know that…?
Francisco Cerúndolo’s strong performance puts him back in the Top 20. The Argentine is currently ranked No. 19 in the PIF Live ATP Rankings
