By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Friday, July 26, 2024
Francisco Cerundolo stopped top-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-6(6), 6-4 to power into his first final of the year on Umag's red clay.
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Francisco Cerundolo has secured status as a player for all surfaces.
Today, Cerundolo showed drive on dirt.
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The fourth-seeded Cerundolo stopped top-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-6(6), 6-4 to power into his first final of the year at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.
Cerundolo saved five of six break points in a one hour, 53-minute triumph to reach his fifth career final and first final since he defeated Tommy Paul to win the 2023 Eastbourne title on grass.
Firing a fierce forehand down the line, Cerundolo closed the longest game of the match to end it.
It is Cerundolo's second Top 10 triumph of the year coming after he defeated Olympic gold-medal champion Alexander Zverev in Madrid last May. Cerundolo improved to 9-11 lifetime vs. Top 10 opponents.
The 2017 champion Rublev's defeat means a maiden Umag champion will be crowned on Saturday.
World No. 37 Cerundolo will play for his third career title tomorrow when he faces Wimbledon semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti in the final. Musetti converted all five break points sweeping 18-year-old Czech powerhouse Jakub Mensik 6-4, 6-1 in today's second semifinal
The 37th-ranked Cerundolo and Rublev traded breaks in the second and third games. That game three break would be the only time all day Cerundolo dropped serve.
In rallies with some heavy forehand exchanges, Cerundolo opened a 4-2 lead in the tiebreaker before Rublev leveled at 4-all. The Argentinean earned a set point at 6-5, but Rublev erased it. Cerundolo closed his second set point to take a one-set lead.
In the second set, Cerundolo reeled off 12 of 14 points in one stretch breaking as he pulled ahead 3-1.
Serving for his fifth final at 5-4, Cerundolo fended off five break points and eventually converted his fourth match point defeating Rublev for the second time in three meetings.