\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t It was a nightmare start for Argentine tennis at Wimbledon, with nine of the 11 players who featured in the first round at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) eliminated on the first two days of competition at the season\u2019s third Grand Slam.<\/p>\n
The lone bright spot came from Solana Sierra, who on Monday began her bid to match or improve on last year\u2019s run to the fourth round with a hard-fought victory.<\/p>\n
The Mar del Plata native, currently No. 56 in the Women\u2019s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, defeated Hungary\u2019s Anna Bond\u00e1r (76) 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 after a hard-fought contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a difficult surface,\u201d Sierra said after the match, noting that Argentina\u2019s scarcity of grass courts means players only begin to \u201cget a feeling\u201d for their game once the grass season starts.<\/p>\n
Even so, she is delighted to be back in London.<\/p>\n
\u201cWimbledon is the best Grand Slam, in my opinion,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very special and unlike any other because of its history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sierra will face seventh seed Coco Gauff of the United States in the second round on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Nightmare Tuesday While Monday at least saw Sierra\u2019s win, the second day of action at the AELTC proved an ordeal for Argentine players.<\/p>\n
The biggest upset was the defeat of top-ranked Argentine Francisco Cer\u00fandolo. The world No. 21 reached Wimbledon fresh off the first grass title in his career at the Queen\u2019s ATP tournament, but was unable to replicate his form.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He fell 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 to Spain\u2019s Jaume Munar on Tuesday, and is yet to reach the second round at Wimbledon since he did it for the first time in 2023.<\/p>\n
Tom\u00e1s Etcheverry, another of the Argentine players on a good season, found no answers to Italy\u2019s Lorenzo Sonego (69), falling 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6. For his part, Rom\u00e1n Burruchaga (65) fell to World No.6 Alex de Minaur from Australia by 7-6, 6-1, 6-0.<\/p>\n
The last Argentine to take to court, Mariano Navone (38), was losing 6-1, 6-7, 3-6 to Italy\u2019s Flavio Cobolli (10) before the match was suspended due to lack of natural light, and will aim to mount a comeback on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In the women\u2019s draw, Roland Garros 2020 semifinalist Nadia Podoroska fell 6-1, 6-2 to Ukraine\u2019s Marta Kostiuk (13).<\/p>\n
Podoroska, currently the World No. 594, had managed to enter the main draw using a protected ranking, a provision that allows players returning from long injuries or other setbacks to enter tournament main draws using their previous, pre-absence ranking.<\/p>\n
Harsh Monday Monday wasn\u2019t much better for Argentines in the men\u2019s draw.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Juan Manuel Cer\u00fandolo (42), who arrived in London fresh from his landmark victory over then-world No. 1 Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The younger Cer\u00fandolo brother fell in straight sets to Spain\u2019s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (23), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4), in two hours and 16 minutes.<\/p>\n
Former Argentine No. 1 Sebasti\u00e1n B\u00e1ez (57) came closer to progressing. After dropping the opening two sets to Germany\u2019s Jan-Lennard Struff (74), he mounted an impressive comeback to force a decider before eventually falling 6-1, 7-6(5), 4-6, 2-6, 7-5 after three hours.<\/p>\n
Camilo Ugo Carabelli (59) looked on course for victory after taking the opening two sets against Spain\u2019s Daniel M\u00e9rida (84), but slipped during the third set and was forced to retire early in the fourth with a physical problem. M\u00e9rida advanced with a 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 3-0 (ret.) victory.<\/p>\n
Thiago Tirante (55) fell to Hungary\u2019s F\u00e1bi\u00e1n Marozs\u00e1n (53) by 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, while veteran Marco Trungelliti (94) was also unable to advance, losing to American Martin Damm (106) 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 7-6(3) after nearly four hours on court.<\/p>\n
Cover image: Wimbledon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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