Ramos-Vinolas Takes Revenge On Schwartzman In Cordoba
Fifth-seed Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas broke up the Argentine party at the Cordoba Open as he took down last year’s finalist Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 on Friday.
Schwartzman was looking to become the fourth Argentine to advance and complete a home sweep of the semi-finals. But Ramos-Vinolas didn’t read the script, and won his third three-setter of the week to stun the World No. 9 at home.
“I’m really happy because it was my first win against him after five losses,” Ramos-Vinolas told ATPTour.com. “I think he’s a great player, and I did a great job to beat him today.”
It was the perfect revenge for Ramos-Vinolas, who fell at this stage to Schwartzman last year in Cordoba. That result extended the Argentine’s ATP Head2Head lead to 5-0, with Ramos-Vinolas unable to win a set in any of their encounters.
But this time around, Ramos-Vinolas raised his level to overpower Schwartzman and reel off the first four games of the match en route to taking a one-sided opening set. He had to weather a mid-match comeback from Schwartzman, who was drawing from the crowd’s energy as he sported taping on his left knee.
Ramos-Vinolas needed two hours and 27 minutes to prevail and move into his first ATP Tour semi-final since 2020 Santiago. He will face another Argentine in his next match after qualifier Facundo Bagnis recorded a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jozef Kovalik.
Earlier in the day, Cancha Central witnessed back-to-back upsets as two more Argentine players claimed big wins over seeded players to advance in Cordoba. 19-year-old Juan Manuel Cerundolo continued his dream run with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory over No. 7 seed Thiago Monteiro to start Friday’s action.
Sitting at No. 335 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Cerundolo qualified for his first ATP Tour event to join older brother Francisco in the main draw, becoming the first pair of Argentine siblings to feature at the same tournament since 1981. But Juan Manuel just kept winning, toppling third-seeded Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round before taking down Monteiro to reach the semi-finals.
[WATCH LIVE 1]“It’s amazing, I can’t believe it,” Cerundolo told ATPTour.com. “I just feel very happy and I want to enjoy this moment… The most important thing is the confidence [from] these matches. Since the qualies, I have a lot of confidence so I think that was the key. I need to stay healthy mentally too because these matches are very hard.”
Cerundolo is now the youngest Argentine to reach an ATP Tour semi-final since 18-year-old Juan Martin del Potro in Adelaide in 2007.
Federico Coria followed Cerundolo’s upset with one of his own as he powered past No. 2 seed Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-2. No. 95 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Coria broke Paire six times and needed just 72 minutes to move into his first ATP Tour semi-final.
The younger brother of former World No. 3 Guillermo Coria, 28-year-old Federico will be looking to channel his sibling’s famous clay-court prowess and lift his maiden ATP Tour trophy at home. Guillermo himself lifted nine trophies during his career, including one on home soil at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires in 2004.
In order to achieve the same in Cordoba, Coria will have to end another Cerundolo brother’s run in his next match. Coria defeated Francisco in the second round, and will now face 19-year-old Juan Manuel for a spot in the final.