The Argentine YPF Tennis Team was eliminated against South Korea in the first round of the 2026 Qualifiers of the Davis Cup, played in Busan, after losing 3-2, and must play for permanence in September.The only Albiceleste victory of the second day was the doubles, where the duo made up of Guido Andreozzi and Federico Gómez beat the locals Ji Sung Nam and Uising Park by 6-3 and 7-5.Immediately afterwards, in the individual matches, Thiago Tirante lost to Soon-Woo Kwon 4-6, 6-4 and 6-3 to tie the series, while Marco Trungelliti was defeated by Hyeon Chung, who won the match 6-4 and 6-3, which meant the decisive point for the locals.
After being tied with one win per side on the first day of competition, after the singles, at dawn on Sunday in Argentina, the debutant duo with the national shirt in this type of competition, Guido Andreozzi and Federico Gómez, became players number 94 and 95, respectively, of the Argentine Tennis Team.
Andreozzi, one of the Argentine specialists in the modality, with 39 Challenger titles throughout his career and three consecrations on the ATP Tour, together with Gómez were responsible for putting the Albiceleste team ahead by beating the locals Ji Sung Nam and Uising Park by 6-3 and 7-5, in one hour and 23 minutes of play.
The national duo was forceful.Gómez, faithful to his bomber style with his forehand, caused damage to his rivals: he was precise when it came to closing the points on the net and responded with solvency from the back of the court.For his part, Andreozzi showed intelligence in his decision-making, which allowed them to complement each other in an ideal way.
In the first set, the Argentines achieved a break in the fourth game and gave up just three points throughout the set, which they resolved with authority 6-3.In the second, the Koreans showed greater precision in their shots, although in the fifth game the albiceleste duo once again held the rival’s serve.
Later, in the ninth game, he failed to capitalize on two match points.The reaction of the Asian team came with their first break of the match, although they were unable to sustain it, and in the following game the Argentines sealed the match 7-5 to advance 2-1 to the team led by Javier Frana.
With the victory in his hands, Andreozzi said: “We had never played together nor had we played in the Davis Cup, so it was a bit of a mystery. Since I arrived in Busan I felt very comfortable and I knew that the day it was my turn to play I would be able to show what I was capable of. It is a difficult situation, with a lot of pressure; it was a very important point, but I was confident that we were going to give a good image.”
For his part, Gómez added: “A debut in the Davis Cup is not easy, but we knew that we had to give our best, whatever the result. The captains placed a lot of emphasis on maintaining energy and showing that we could impose our game. I think we complement each other quite well.”
The second point of the series had the main rackets of each country face to face, both winners on the opening day: Thiago Tirante, ranked 95th in the ATP ranking, and Soon-Woo Kwon (343rd).
The development of the first set was even until the ninth game.There, Tirante reached 40-0, but a string of errors allowed Kwon to react, who achieved the break and then closed the set 6-3.
With no room for regrets and despite the annoyance at the way the initial set escaped him, the player from La Plata remained focused on his game plan and started the second quarter with authority, quickly taking a 3-0 lead.On the other side of the net, the Asian did not crumble and continued to fight for every point.In the ninth game, Tirante served to even the score, but his rival achieved the break for the second time in the match.However, in the next game Kwon could not confirm it and the Argentine closed the set 6-4.
In the deciding set, Tirante was the one who struck first and took a 2-0 lead on serve.The Asian did not let himself be intimidated and managed to turn the match around: he won four consecutive games and, when the player from La Plata served 3-5, once again the Korean snatched his serve to seal the 6-3 victory and equalize the series 2-2.
In relation to the defeat, Tirante expressed: “I am very sad for not being able to give the point and the victory to Argentina, although I am calm because I gave one hundred percent. Sometimes it is not enough and those days are difficult. I got a little nervous when I was a break in favor in the third set. I take away many experiences and learnings from Javier (Frana) and the entire team. It was one of the best weeks, tennis-wise, of my life. Despite the defeat, today things weigh morepositive than negative ones.”
The captains of both nations decided to maintain their lineups and MarcoTrungelliti (134th) faced Hyeon Chung (392nd).With the nerves that come with this type of match, the players went out to play the last point on the covered courts of the Gijang Gymnasium.
In the first set, both tennis players perfectly preserved their most lethal weapon, the serve.Only in the tenth game, Chung had two break opportunities and took advantage of one of them to take the set 6-4.
In the second set, Trungelliti took a 2-0 lead, but was unable to maintain the advantage.The Asian maintained freshness in his shots, showed patience and, with two breaks of serve, won 6-3 to close the series in favor of South Korea 3-2.
Like Argentina, 12 other teams that lose in the first round of Qualifiers fall to World Group I. In September, these 13 nations face 13 others that won this week in World Group I and play as a “playoff.”Whoever wins will play in the 2027 Qualifiers, while whoever loses will have to play the World Group again to dream of the 2028 Qualifiers.
Possible rivals for Argentina: Finland, Switzerland, China, Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Monaco, Lithuania, Turkey, Poland and Paraguay have already entered the group. They remain to be defined this Sunday: Morocco vs.Egypt (1-1), Greece vs.Mexico (1-1), Luxembourg vs.Ukraine (2-0).
