In the opening round of the 2023 ATP Rio Open on Tuesday, Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena will be Francisco Cerundolo's opponent.
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The majority of Roberto Carballes Baena’s miserable January was not his fault. He advanced to the second round in Pune during the first week of play, but after facing top seed Marin Cilic, he lost in three sets. And in order to win a main draw match for the second time in his career Down Under, he immediately travelled to Melbourne for the Australian Open. But, he was dealt the worst draw of any player, having to play Novak Djokovic in his own neighbourhood, so he wasn’t very lucky. Carballes Baena did fight Djokovic, who was suffering from a hamstring ailment, in the first two sets, but he lacked the tools to harm the Serb and lost 6-3 6-4 6-0. The 29-year-next old’s tournament was in Cordoba at the start of the Golden Swing, when he played one of the season’s longest sets, lasting more than three hours, but ultimately fell short to Zapata Miralles, losing 6-7 6-3 7-5. But, a week later in Buenos Aires, he shocked his countryman Ramos Vinolas to earn his second victory of the year.
Diego Schwartzman was recently surpassed by Francisco Cerundolo as the top player in his nation, and he is now fiercely pursuing his second ATP championship in the South America Golden Swing. Cerundolo has already advanced to back-to-back quarterfinals in his first two competitions, despite quitting his match against Federico Coria in Corodoba in the middle of it. But, Bernabe Zapata Miralles narrowly defeated him last week in Buenos Aires. Cerundolo was worn out during the lengthy match, despite winning the second set in the tiebreak, and the Spaniard’s endurance gave him the upper hand to secure the victory. At the Rio Open, where he reached the semifinals the previous year, Cerundolo will be aiming to match or possibly surpass that performance. On that run, he incidentally overcame Carballes Baena before losing to Diego Schwartzman in the final four.
| Francisco Cerundolo vs Roberto Carballes Baena | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | February 21, 2023 |
| Surface | Clay |
| Tournament | Rio Open |
| Stage | First round |
| Time (India) | 06:30 pm (time can be changed) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Zapata Miralles | 3-6, 7-6, 3-6 (L) |
| Jaume Munar | 6-2, 6-1 (W) |
| Yannick Hanfmann | 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 (W) |
| Federico Coria | 3-6, 0-3 (L) |
| Federico Delbonis | 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 (W) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Tomas Martin | 6-4, 1-6, 2-6 (L) |
| Albert Ramos | 7-5, 6-4 (W) |
| Zapata Miralles | 7-6, 3-6, 5-7 (L) |
| Novak Djokovic | 3-6, 4-6, 0-6 (L) |
| Marin Cilic | 3-6, 6-3, 1-6 (L) |
Carballes Baena is down 4-0 to Francisco Cerundolo in their previous meeting. Even the match in 2022, which happened to take place at the Rio Open, was played on clay.
Francisco Cerundolo and Roberto Carballes Baena will take on each other in the first round of the 2023 ATP Rio Open on February 21.
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