\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t Third time was the charm for Argentine tennis star Francisco Cer\u00fandolo (19th ATP singles ranked), who beat Argentine-born Italian Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-2 to win the 2026 Argentina Open after losing twice in the finals before (2021 and 2025).<\/p>\n
Surrounded by rumors about the future due to the 2028 Saudi Arabia Masters 1000, the tournament\u2019s final match became a display of everything the South American swing brings to the tour: passion, intensity, and love for the game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a frantic game with both players bringing their best to the Guillermo Vilas Center Court under the watchful eye of ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cer\u00fandolo got ahead early, breaking his rival\u2019s serve at 1-1. The Argentine underwent a torrent of suspense the very next game, facing three break points before holding on. The match remained a blow-for-blow affair until the end, where once again Cer\u00fandolo needed more than one chance to wrap it up.<\/p>\n
The second started much in the same way. After a row of three successive breaks, Cer\u00fandolo emerged with a 2-1 lead and, most importantly, control of the match.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Darderi appeared to be rattled by the roar of the fans. He also complained about calls from the electronic system. After getting a call for a foot fault \u2014 when a serving player\u2019s feet touch the lines before they hit the ball \u2014 he smirked and shouted, \u201cIsn\u2019t it odd?\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite struggles with his serve \u2014 just 53% effectiveness \u2014 Cer\u00fandolo was able to close out the match on his second match point and win his first final in three tries.<\/p>\n
A win a long time in the making \u201cIt\u2019s a special win, of course,\u201d Cer\u00fandolo said at the press conference. \u201cBecause of all that came with it, after losing two [finals], facing [Darderi], who was playing really well. It was going to be a tough match, and I think I played great from start to finish, my best of the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
He insisted the final score was \u201ca lie,\u201d highlighting how every game and every point was fought for tooth and nail.<\/p>\n
Cer\u00fandolo, who grew up in a tennis-obsessed family and is brother to professional player Juan Manuel, admitted he had dreamt of winning the title many times.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis win is the result of several years of work. Perhaps people see me play and think it\u2019s all talent, but very few people have seen me training,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m thrilled now, but this is a tough sport, and tomorrow you already have to be thinking about the next match. The time for celebration and the ecstasy of winning are very short.\u201d<\/p>\n
Darderi, meanwhile, said he was \u201cvery happy\u201d Cer\u00fandolo got to win the title at Buenos Aires, given that he\u2019s a \u201cgreat friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was his third final here; he\u2019s Argentina\u2019s number one, a great guy with a great family, so he truly deserves it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Darderi insisted he didn\u2019t particularly suffer the crowd and that he \u201ccouldn\u2019t really complain,\u201d given that his lows were the product of his own making.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s something I can blame myself a bit for. I got a tad angry, missing chances for getting stuck in what had just happened,\u201d Darderi said. \u201cBut that\u2019s also part of playing in the center court, with the fans\u2019 noise, and that got to me a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t blow off steam every once in a while, it\u2019s worse, I think. But you also have to try to control yourself. Today, I was a bit overwhelmed by the situation. I went into the court to play, not to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the win will have little impact on the rankings. Cer\u00fandolo remains Argentina\u2019s top-ranked star at 19, with Darderi \u2014 who plays under the Italian flag \u2014 climbing just a single spot, to 21.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, with Gaudenzi\u2019s visit and the future of the tournament in the air, the 2026 Argentina Open could prove a pivotal point not just for Cer\u00fandolo\u2019s career but also for Argentine tennis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Third time was the charm for Argentine tennis star Francisco Cer\u00fandolo (19th ATP singles ranked), who beat Argentine-born Italian Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-2 to win the 2026 Argentina Open after losing twice in the finals before (2021 and 2025). Surrounded by rumors about the future due to the 2028 Saudi Arabia Masters 1000, the tournament\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":35829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5816,7838,9890,67,5570],"tags":[5814,7834,9889,1369,5568],"class_list":["post-35828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-2026-argentina-open","category-francisco-cerundolo","category-luciano-darderi","category-sports","category-tennis","tag-2026-argentina-open","tag-francisco-cerundolo","tag-luciano-darderi","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}