Cerúndolo deja sola a la bandera argentina en

Elcano hit the break. Cerundolo took down American Martin Damm in straight sets, and suddenly, the rest of the week comes with a single Argentine flag flying: his. Short phrases are enough to understand the size of the feat. The rest is details, but those details are not minor.

The porteño, ranked 21st in the world and third seed in the ATP 250 tournament in Brussels, won 6-4, 7-6 (4) in 1 hour and 35 minutes. After an uncomplicated first set, the match got complicated when Damm broke back and forced the tie-break. Cerundolo, however, leaned on his serve and closed the duel without needing a third set.

“I am very happy with the victory because Martin is a very difficult opponent. He has a lot of power, a great serve and big shots, so I knew it was going to be very tough.”Francisco Cerundolo

That victory gives him his eighth win of the season and a place in the quarterfinals of an ATP tournament. He had already reached that stage in Buenos Aires, Santiago, Miami, Munich, Queen's, Los Cabos and Beijing. In Buenos Aires and Queen's, he went one step further and took the title.

A strong number on indoor hard courts

The result also reinforces his record on indoor hard courts. He accumulates 25 wins and 19 losses on that surface, and no other Argentine player in the Top 100 has as many victories there. It is his fourth appearance in the quarterfinals of an indoor tournament, after Gijón in 2022, Almaty in 2024 and Belgrade in 2024.

“This is my first tournament on indoor hard court this season. I think I have started very well, and I am very happy. I like playing under these conditions.”Francisco Cerundolo

• Friday's opponent will be Frenchman Clément Chidekh, ranked 152nd.
• Chidekh came through qualifying and eliminated Britain's Jacob Fearnley, ranked 87th, in two sets.
• Cerundolo will arrive for that match with the confidence of having just beaten a dangerous serve on a fast indoor surface.

Around him, though, the Argentine team ran out of luck. Mariano Navone fell in Brussels against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, 7-6 (4) and 7-5. Tomás Etcheverry lost in the first round of Almaty to Italian Mattia Bellucci, while Facundo Díaz Acosta was eliminated by Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili. The rest of the locals could not accompany him. Fine. When the group gets smaller, the flag weighs more.

Next rival, then: Chidekh. Friday will be another short, difficult duel. Cerundolo knows the track. The next task is to get through it.