Cerundolo Back in Buenos Aires Final – Tennis Now
By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, February 14, 2026
Photo credit: Megan Briggs/Getty
Francisco Cerundolo battled back into the Buenos Aires final.
In an all-Argentinean semifinal, the 2025 finalist Cerundolo fought off Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 7-5 to advance to his second straight Buenos Aires final.
The top-seeded Cerundolo is the first man to reach back-to-back Buenos Aires finals since compatriot Diego Schwartzman in 2021-2022.
A year ago, Cerundolo lost to Brazilian Joao Fonseca 6-4, 7-6(7) in the final as the 18-year-old Brazilian became the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history.
Tomorrow, Cerundolo will play either compatriot Sebastian Baez, the fourth seed, or second-seeded Italian Luciano Darderi in the final.
Cerundolo has split two meetings vs. Baez and is 2-2 lifetime vs. Darderi.
Pushed into his backhand corner, Cerundolo cranked a crosscourt backhand reply that hit the sideline and skidded beneath Etchevarry’s racquet for double set point in the opening set.
On his second set point, the top seed closed the 50-minute opening set.
In the second set, Cerundolo broke for 6-5 then fought back from Love-30 down to close in one hour, 51 minutes. Cerundolo dropped just seven points on first serve and saved the lone break point he faced.
It was Cerundolo’s seventh straight win over a fellow Argentinean since he lost to Etcheverry in the 2024 US Open. The 27-year-old Cerundolo snapped a four match losing streak in ATP semifinals.
