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Argentina qualifier Juan Manuel Cerundolo had never played an ATP Tour main draw match before this week at the Cordoba Open. Now the 19-year-old is one win away from winning his first trophy at home after beating Federico Coria 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Cerundolo is now the first player to qualify for the final on his Tour debut since Spain’s Santiago Ventura in 2004 in Casablanca.
“Honestly, I still can’t believe what’s going on,” Cerundolo said in an interview on the pitch. “It was a really tough game, I was playing very solid in the first set but he started to come back and then anything could happen. After the second set, I did well to recover mentally and resist him.
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Cerundolo and Coria were both in uncharted waters on Saturday as they each played their first ATP Tour semi-finals. But their paths to get to this point couldn’t be more different: Coria, 28, was making a late career breakthrough, while young Cerundolo was in the midst of the best week of his career after making his main draw of the ATP Tour. start. In fact, Cerundolo had only played 14 matches in the ATP Challenger Tour and had a 7-7 record in Cordoba.
But the 19-year-old looked more like the veteran Cancha Central, doing damage with his left forehand as he redirected Coria’s power to his compatriot. Cerundolo finished the game with 30 winners against Coria’s 19 as he sealed the victory after two hours and 10 minutes.
“I would describe myself… as a defensive counter-puncher,” Cerundolo said. “I like to hit with the power of the other guy. When you face strong opponents like Fede [Coria], you have to chase them a bit, otherwise things may get complicated.
The victory made Cerundolo the youngest Argentinian to reach an ATP Tour final since 18-year-old Jose Acasuso in Buenos Aires in 2001. In this tournament, Acasuso was coached by Alejandro Cerundolo, father of Juan Manuel.
Cerundolo awaits fifth-seeded winner Albert Ramos-Vinolas and fellow Argentinian Facundo Bagnis for a chance to win the title.
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