Francisco Cerundolo has done it. After falling short in the decider twice, the world No. 19 finally got over the hump in his third Argentina Open final to win the tournament for the first time in his career.
“Winning here is special … I wanted to win here,” admitted Cerundolo in his postgame press conference after taking down Luciano Darderi (6-4, 6-2) on Sunday, with Bolavip in attendance.
The trophy in his native Buenos Aires had been quite elusive for the 27-year-old, who lost to fellow countryman Diego Schwartzman in the 2021 final before being upset by Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca in the title game last year.
Cerundolo wants to build on Buenos Aires triumph to succeed in Brazil
This time, Cerundolo redeemed himself in a memorable week where he won all his games in straight sets. But as happy as he feels about this unforgettable triumph in front of his family and friends, Cerundolo is already setting his sights in his next challenge on the ATP tour: the 2026 Rio Open.
“This sport is tough, tomorrow I’m taking a plane to Rio and I already have to change the mindset,” Cerundolo said. “I will try to give my best in Rio, I know there’s 500 points at stake, it’s a lot of points and I would also like to continue winning.”
Fresh off his 2026 Argentina Open victory—the fourth ATP title in his career—Cerundolo will be back on the tennis court soon. On Tuesday, he’s playing fellow Argentine Mariano Navone in the 2026 Rio Open round of 32.
Cerundolo’s goals for 2026 involving Grand Slams and top opponents
Speaking to reporters after the Buenos Aires final, with Bolavip in the press room after following him throughout the tournament, Cerundolo also referred to his Grand Slam goals for 2026.
“I don’t set a fixed goal for myself, I just want to perform better in those tournaments because it’s what I lacked last year,” he explained, days after mentioning that one of his goals for 2026 is to improve his performance at the Majors.
“I think I had a great tournament at the Australian Open, reaching the round of 16 and losing to a player who was better than me and almost beat (Carlos) Alcaraz in the semis,” Cerundolo said in reference to German star Alexander Zverev.
“My goal is to play my best tennis every week and face the world’s best players. If one wants to improve and climb in the ranking, you have to face the best in those stages and aspire to beat them.”
A promising start to 2026 for Cerundolo
It is a promising moment in Cerundolo’s career. At 27, he’s finally establishing himself as the best tennis player in Argentina, winning the only tournament played in the country while being the nation’s best-ranked player.
2026 is all about improvement for Cerundolo. He’s already won a tournament he’d been chasing for years now, and finds himself only one spot behind his career-best ranking (No. 18 on May 5, 2025).
When the time comes, Cerundolo will hope to get past the fourth round at the Roland Garros, having reached that round of the French Open twice already (2023, 2024). But first, the reigning Argentina Open champion will be looking to build on his recent triumph to make another deep run in Brazil.