Frances Tiafoe walked on Court Guillermo Vilas Thursday evening keen to earn his first ATP Head2Head win against Jaume Munar. But it was the Spaniard who prevailed, taking a 3-0 lead in their rivalry with a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory in the second round of the Argentina Open.
World No. 106 Munar, a qualifier in Buenos Aires, was more consistent throughout the match to triumph after two hours and 19 minutes. The 23-year-old is into his first ATP Tour quarter-final since Marrakech in 2019, when he upset Alexander Zverev.
"I'm very excited. I think I played a really good match tonight," Munar said. "It was a tough one, but I felt mentally and physically ready and I am very happy to go through and to fight again tomorrow."
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Munar grinded from behind the baseline, hitting heavy balls deep behind the service line to challenge Tiafoe to go for shots from difficult positions. The American showed flashes of brilliance, but was unable to land winners consistently enough to take out the Spaniard, who also defeated him at the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals.
Francisco Cerundolo, the older brother of last week's Cordoba champion, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, upset third seed Benoit Paire 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. The 22-year-old Argentine won three ATP Challenger Tour titles last season.
"I'm so happy, first quarter-final [and I was able to do it] at home with my family, friends, everyone supporting me," Cerundolo said. "I'm really happy, really excited for tomorrow's match against Pablo."
Cerundolo will next play sixth seed Pablo Andujar, who eliminated Gianluca Mager 6-4, 7-6(5). The Spaniard has won all four of his ATP Tour titles on clay.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2NVvASM
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