The Davis Cup series in South Korea represents a significant challenge for the Argentine team. After Thiago Tirante’s success against Hyeon Chung, Marco Trungelliti He fell to Soon Woo Kwon 7-6 (8-6) and 6-2, in one hour and 34 minutes of play, after making a great physical effort in the first set that demoralized him and made him lose energy in the second set. So, the first day of the first round of the Qualifiers closed 1-1.
Starting at one in the morning this Sunday in our country, the series will continue with the doubles point: the couple made up of Guido Andreozzi and Federico Gómez will play the third point in search of regaining the advantage for the country. Then, two more singles are scheduled.
The tennis player born in Santiago del Estero dressed for the first time the Argentina shirt (with just turned 36, the Argentine player was older debuting in the competition) and did not hesitate to take a break from his personal calendar to make himself available to the team after receiving the call from captain Javier Frana.
The man from Santiago occupies the position No. 134 of the ATP ranking and maintains the hope of entering the Top 100 for the first time. In the 2025 season, he won three Challenger titles (Lyon, Tulln and Târgu Mureș) and this year he played the qualification for the Australian Open, where he was one match away from being able to play the first Grand Slam of the season.
The Argentine showed a good start in the first games of the match and tried to play with changes of effects and heights so that the South Korean did not feel comfortable with the ball at his waist and punished him with his forehand. Although he achieved a quick break in the fourth game, his opponent recovered it instantly after an irregular game by Trungelliti where he committed two double faults.
Both players maintained a similar level in the subsequent games and were firm with their serve. Despite this, Kwon continued to suffer from the pace of the game that his rival imposed on the court since the man from Santiago was well positioned and always made him play an extra ball.
The parity on the scoreboard between the two tennis players meant that the first set had to be defined in the tie-break. There, the South Korean hit the start to go up 4-0 after taking advantage of a series of errors by Trungelliti. The Argentine reacted, saved three set points, but again conceded a mini-break at 6-6 and Kwon finally took the set with a smash.
The set began in the same way as the first set, since both players showed no cracks and lost few points with their serve. However, in the sixth game, Kwon came back from 30-0 down and broke Trungelliti’s serve who made some unforced errors consecutively.
The Argentinian felt the physical wear product of a tough first set and he would lose his serve again so that the South Korean took the set 6-2 and equalize the series between Argentina and South Korea.
“It doesn’t matter what happens to Thiago (Tirante) in the first game. This week it’s a team sport. The most important thing is that we are fully prepared for the tournament and we have been preparing for the circumstances throughout the week,” the Argentine highlighted before the match.
Trungelliti was sparring of the Argentine team that won the only Davis Cup in 2016, ten years before its debut in the competition. “Maybe the fact of having been a sparring partner in 2016 helps me a lot. I experienced very strong situations in the semi-final in Glasgow and in the final in Croatia. That’s why I feel that Today I enjoy it more and I’m not as nervous”.
It should be noted that the Argentine captain, Frana, could not count on the main players on the circuitsince they chose not to travel to South Korea due to the proximity of the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, which will mark the start of the clay court tour in South America.
In this way, he was forced to reformulate the team he had in mind and call up Tirante, Marco Trungelliti, Juan Pablo Ficovich, Federico Gómez and Guido Andreozzi to compete in the series in Busan.
For his part, Trungelliti’s rival, Soon Woo Kwonhe reached the top 50 and is the only player in the series in win two ATP singles titles (Astana and Adelaide). This year he started in great shape after conquering the Phan Thiet Challenger. Starting from the qualification, he achieved seven consecutive victories without giving up sets and won his first title on that circuit since February 2019.
After failing to win a medal at the 2022 Asian Games, he was automatically forced to perform military service. In December 2024, the South Korean announced that he would pause his career on the circuit and a month later he began that stage that he is still going through since the process lasts about 20 months.
“I will play responsiblysince I’m wearing the symbol Taegeuk (fundamental in Korean culture and central to the national flag). I’ve already seen my opponents on tour. “I will prepare well tonight,” he remarked after the draw.
Regarding your great start to the year, Kwon He remained calm and left a hopeful message for the South Korean public: “I am always 100%. “I am confident no matter who I face.”
If you emerge victorious from Busan, the Argentina tennis team They will next face the winner of the duel between India and the Netherlands in September. Unlike what happened in February, The next series would take place in Argentine territory given that Argentina’s last confrontation against these two countries was as a visitor.
