Cerúndolo wins marathon match to reach Cincinnati Masters third round

Juan Manuel Cerúndolo battled through a grueling physical and mental test, lasting three hours and 35 minutes, to secure his first-ever appearance in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters 1000. The Buenos Aires native, currently ranked 51st in the world, staged a comeback after losing the first set and being a break down in the second. He ultimately defeated France's Arthur Rinderknech, ranked 28th, with a score of 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5). Rinderknech appeared to experience some physical discomfort in the latter stages of the match.

Cerúndolo's next opponent will be Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, the tournament's second seed. Auger-Aliassime advanced by defeating Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas with a score of 6-3, 7-5 in his opening match.

Unfortunately, Juan Manuel's victory was the sole success for Argentine players on the day. His brother, Francisco Cerúndolo, the 20th seed, was easily defeated by Portugal's Nuno Borges, who won 6-4, 6-4 in just over an hour. Additionally, Marco Trungelliti, who came through qualifying, was unable to force a third set against Russia's Daniil Medvedev, the fourth seed. Trungelliti held a 5-3 lead in the second set but could not maintain it, ultimately losing 6-4, 7-5.

Sebastián Báez was scheduled to conclude the Argentine contingent's play for the day against American Learner Tien, the 16th seed.