Cerundolo hits century in Paris, dents Rublev's Turin hopes
Francisco Cerundolo racked up a century of tour-level wins in style on Tuesday at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The Argentine held his nerve to upset sixth seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(6), 7-6(5) to reach the third round at the indoor ATP Masters 1000 for a second successive year. In a pendulum-swinging battle, Cerundolo rallied from a break deficit in both sets to prevail, improving to a 3-1 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Big stage for a BIG milestone 👏🏟️@FranCerundolo brings up a century of tour-level wins by knocking out No. 6 seed Rublev, 7-6(6) 7-6(5)!#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/VFvTk3wmIm
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 29, 2024
The defeat is a setback in Rublev’s quest to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for a fifth consecutive year. The 27-year-old is eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 165 points ahead of ninth-placed Alex de Minaur, who takes on Mariano Navone for a spot in round two in Paris.
The Live Race is heating up, but Rublev will be unable to amass further points at this week’s ATP Masters 1000 event. Meanwhile, fellow Turin hopefuls De Minaur (ninth), Grigor Dimitrov (10th) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (12th) are all still alive in Paris.
Cerundolo’s attacking prowess was on full display in his two-hour, 18-minute triumph. The 26-year-old struck 35 winners and won 86 per cent (6/7) of points at the net, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
With the triumph, Cerundolo registered his fourth win in seven matches against a Top 10 opponent in 2024. The No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings will next face Tsitsipas or Alejandro Tabilo for a place in the quarter-finals.
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