NEW YORK – They are not Argentina’s great stars. They are not Grand Slam or Davis Cup champions. They do what they can. As Francisco Cerúndolo himself put it, they are players “ranked below twenty”
“We’re in a period where there’s no Del Potro, no Nalbandian, no Coria. We’re players ranked below twenty,” lamented South America’s No.1 to the press after his disappointing exit at Flushing Meadows.
Cerúndolo was the last Argentine standing at the 2025 US Open, and for the first time since 2015, there will be no men’s singles player from his country in the tournament’s second week.
“Nowadays the level is very even everywhere, there are hardly any easy rounds. Everyone beats everyone. I think we’re missing one more step in quality at these tournaments,” admitted the elder of the Cerúndolo brothers.
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After a promising first half of the season – reaching the Buenos Aires final, semi-finals in Madrid, Hamburg and Santiago, and quarter-finals in Indian Wells and Miami – the Argentine had raised expectations. But a disappointing Fench Open and Wimbledon, followed by poor results in North America, dragged him into a slump.
Cerúndolo has been one of South America’s most successful players of the past five years, yet his record at majors remains lacking: he has never reached a Grand Slam quarter-final.
“It’s something I need to improve on in the rest of my career: to be more of a contender at a Grand Slam, to be in the final rounds. That’s what I’ll aim for in the coming years, and hopefully I can achieve it,” said the current world No.19.
“I’ve had very good results at the Masters 1000s this season. But at the Slams I haven’t been able to get past the round of 16 – I’ve fallen a couple of times there at Roland Garros, third rounds in Australia – but I think it’s something I need to improve.”
The 3-time ATP title winner shrugs off public criticism: “I don’t even read it, because why should I worry about someone writing on social media about me, who maybe doesn’t even know how to play tennis or doesn’t know me? They can say whatever they want. The only opinions that matter to me are from the people close to me.”
A long stretch on the road awaits the 27-year-old: after a few days’ rest in Buenos Aires, Cerúndolo will join Javier Frana’s Davis Cup team to face the Netherlands. The winner will advance to November’s finals.
He will then play the Laver Cup in San Francisco before heading straight to Asia to rejoin the ATP Tour.
