Francisco Comesaña could be nominated for the Best Post-Match Interview of the Year award.
—How did you manage to turn around such a tough match against Alexander Zverev?
—I kept repeating to myself the whole match: “How good it is to be alive.” That’s how I enjoyed the tight match.
—And that spectacular point you won against Sascha at 4-all in the third set! What you did was crazy…
—I think Christ (the Redeemer) told me to go to the right, and that’s what I did. I was lucky!
Francisco Comesaña just gave one of the best post-match interviews of the year after defeating Zverev in Rio:
“I was repeating to myself the whole match ‘how good is to be alive’, because I was enjoying the tight match”. pic.twitter.com/tFgfssssr0— Clay (@_claymagazine) February 22, 2025
The Argentine defeated the world number two at the Rio Open 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 after being down 4-1 in the third set, achieving the biggest victory of a career that only exploded in 2024. He’s in the semifinals of an ATP event for the first time.
And that point, which led to the crucial break of Zverev’s serve before closing out the match, surely felt like it had divine intervention from the top of the Corcovado Hill, where the famous statue is located.
The German fired a powerful serve down the T on the deuce side, forcing Comesaña into a difficult backhand return. The ball sat up perfectly for the top seed’s smash, which he struck hard and cross-court. But Comesaña guessed right, blocked the forehand shot, and sealed the point with a running backhand slice.
The German served powerfully down the T on the deuce side, and Comesaña returned under pressure with his backhand. The ball was left perfectly for a smash from the top seed, who hit it hard and cross-court. Comesaña guessed the side, blocked the forehand, and then finished it with a running backhand slice.
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“This happens thanks to the hard work, the effort I’ve been putting in. I have to be grateful for this moment, and I’m enjoying it,” he said with a joyful expression, showing that his words are true to his feelings: Comesaña speaks with honesty and a naturalness that’s increasingly rare in tennis. And his smile appears even in the most stressful moments of his matches.
Comesaña, 24, has a rather atypical win record in the professional circuit: just seven victories spread across Wimbledon 2024 (Andrey Rublev, Adam Walton), the US Open 2024 (Dominic Stricker, Ugo Humbert), and the current ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro (Gustavo Heide, Nicolás Jarry, and Zverev). A multisurface collection without any success yet in the ATP 250 events.
This Saturday, at Quadra Guga Kuerten, he will have the chance to reach the final in Brazil, with one of the Seven Wonders of the World by his side.
