Hamburg (Germany): Francisco Cerundolo extended his winning streak to seven matches on Thursday, after defeating World No. 8 Andrey Rublev of Russia 6-4, 6-2 at the Hamburg European Open to earn his second Top 10 win in as many weeks.
The Argentine captured his maiden tour-level title in Bastad last week and has backed that up in Hamburg. In a high-quality second-round match, Cerundolo rallied from 2-4 in the first set and fired 26 winners as he blasted the second seed off the court in one hour and 33 minutes.
“I think I played another great match. I felt really comfortable on the court,” Cerundolo said in his on-court interview.
“I think in the first three games I didn’t play that bad, but he was really solid and didn’t miss many balls. Then I started feeling more confident and I think I was very solid today.”
The 23-year-old, who defeated World No. 5 Casper Ruud in Sweden last week, will next face Aslan Karatsev in the quarterfinals after the 28-year-old eliminated Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“It is really good to have this confidence at this level,” Cerundolo added.
“It is the first time it has happened for me. I am playing against the top guys and I am playing well and it is unbelievable. I really happy with my game and my head, because I am keeping my concentration and playing the whole match well.”
Cerundolo, currently at a career-high No. 30 in the ATP Rankings, has earned a career-best 19 tour-level wins this year, with 13 coming on clay. He reached the last four in Rio de Janeiro in February, before he advanced to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Miami.
Rublev has captured three tour-level crowns this season and lifted the trophy on his last appearance in Hamburg in 2020. However, he was unable to cope with Cerundolo’s heavy hitting in northern Germany.
–IANS
Comments are closed.