Cerúndolo rallies from two sets down to reach fourth round in New York

Francisco Cerúndolo overturned a two-set deficit against Taylor Fritz to reach the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in his career. The Argentine, ranked 25th in the world, defeated the 10th-seeded American 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 40 minutes.

Fritz controlled the opening stages, and Cerúndolo was also a break down in the third set. The turning point came when the Argentine recovered that break and gradually found his rhythm. “Fritz was playing much better than me. In the first set he was very aggressive and I didn’t feel comfortable at all. After I recovered the break in the third, I gradually started to get into the match,” Cerúndolo said.

The decisive set stayed tight. Serving at 3-3, Cerúndolo fought back from 0-40, then broke Fritz in the next game. He served out the match at 5-4. “I think I played really good tennis in the fourth and fifth sets, tennis I wasn’t finding in the previous set or in the earlier rounds,” he said courtside.

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Fritz was playing much better than me. In the first set he was very aggressive and I didn’t feel comfortable at all. After I recovered the break in the third, I gradually started to get into the match.

Cerúndolo had also played a five-set match in the second round. This was only his second comeback after losing the opening two sets, following his victory over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in New York last year.

He is the second Argentine to reach the tournament’s last 16, after Tomás Martín Etcheverry qualified on Friday. No Argentine had reached that stage in New York since Diego Schwartzman did so in 2021.

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I think I played really good tennis in the fourth and fifth sets, tennis I wasn’t finding in the previous set or in the earlier rounds.