This Monday the 26th edition of the Argentina Open began, which is played on the clay courts of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.Tomás Etcheverry made his debut with a victory against the Italian Andrea Pellegrino.For their part, Lautaro Midón and Alex Barrena failed to advance to the round of 16.This Tuesday the competition continues with the participation of five local tennis players.
In the presence of a significant number of people who came to the club located in the Palermo Forests and with a temperature that exceeded 33 degrees Celsius, Etcheverry, ranked 54th in the world rankings, was in charge of giving the Argentine legion the first victory in the Buenos Aires tournament by defeating, in the debut, the Italian Pellegrino (145th), from the classification, by 6-3 and6-4 in one hour and 39 minutes of play.
The 26-year-old from La Plata, who still does not have ATP Tour titles, lost the three finals he played in Santiago and Houston in 2023, and in Lyon in 2024. He is currently playing his fifth edition in the Buenos Aires tournament, where his best performances were reaching the quarterfinals in 2023 and 2024.
During the development of the match, the Argentine even vomited at one of the points.When asked about that situation, Etcheverry explained: “In the second set I had a discomfort that, to be honest, I didn’t give much importance to.”
When analyzing the victory, he stated: “The key was the serve: I felt very comfortable and I knew that, if I could achieve the odd break, then I would be quite firm from that side. Although I suffered a little in the first game of the set, then I began to feel more and more, I knew how to handle some risky situations that I had and, with the two breaks that I achieved and maintaining my serve, they were the keys to victory.”
For a place in the quarterfinals, Retu will face the winner of the duel between Román Burruchaga (104th) and Serbian Laslo Djere (91st).
For his part, Lautaro Midón (229th), who surpassed the classification and played his first ATP Tour main draw, fell to the Spanish Pedro Martínez (94th) 6-4 and 6-1.Alex Barrena (180°) fought but finally lost to Czech VitKopriva (95°) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.Meanwhile, the surprise of the day came from the Bolivian Hugo Dellien (167th), by beating the Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (62nd) by 6-4 and 6-1.
For the second day of competition, the central court of the Buenos Aires LawnTennis Club will be dressed in light blue and white: five local tennis players will seek to advance to the round of 16 of the Buenos Aires ATP.All matches can be seen live on TyC Sports.
Juan Manuel Cerúndolo (80°) will be in charge of opening the daytime match against the German Daniel Altmaier (51°), not before 1:00 p.m. (Argentine time).
Facundo Díaz Acosta (285°), champion of the 2024 edition of the Argentina Open and who received an invitation to be part of the 32 tennis players competing in the contest, will face the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (71°), finalist of the Challenger de Concepción this year.The meeting will begin at 2:30 p.m.
In the night session, Federico Coria (322nd), another of the players who obtained a wild card, will have a tough opponent in the first round against the Italian MatteoBerrettini (58th), who won ten ATPTour titles throughout his career.The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Finally, the Albiceleste duel will be played by Camilo Ugo Carabelli (47th), who lifted the Rosario Challenger trophy for the second consecutive time last Sunday, and Francisco Comesaña from Mar del Plata (63rd).
On court 2, the participation of the Chilean Marcelo Barrios Vera (114°) is expected against the Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild (197°), starting at 1:00 p.m.Next, Román Burruchaga will play against the Serbian Laslo Djere, and the Peruvian Ignacio Buse (96th) against the Italian Francesco Passaro (159th).
