Cerundolo loves Miami Open; Djokovic, Korda and Fritz advance

Photo by Peter Staples/ATP Tour

By Harvey Fialkov

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – This is where Francisco Cerundolo’s tennis life truly began.

Toiling around the Challenger Circuit since he was 17, the lanky Argentine came into the Miami Open Masters 1000 presented by Itaú in 2022 without ever winning an ATP level match on a hard court. Having never played in a Masters 1000 main draw, Cerundolo knocked off 57^th-ranked Tallon Griekspoor, 18^th-ranked Reilly Opelka, 24^th-ranked Gael Monfils, 31^st Frances Tiafoe and No. 11 Jannik Sinner before losing to No. 8 Casper Ruud in the semis.

At a rank of 103, he was the lowest-ranked semifinalist in tournament history and earned $343,000. The following week his rank soared to 47 and the rest is Cerundolo history.

From that point he got straight into Grand Slams and Masters events. He reached 19 in the world in June 2023 and now has $6.5 million in the bank.

And on the first rainy day of this prestigious event where Cerundolo feels like he’s back home in Buenos Aires, he avenged that defeat to fifth-seeded Ruud with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at a packed Grandstand outside Hard Rock Stadium.

He had to wait through a 3 1/2-hour rain delay at 5-1 of the second set before securing his quarterfinal berth in five minutes back on court against 33-year-old Grigor Dimitrov, last year’s finalist. The classy Bulgarian sent another American packing in a near flawless 6-4, 7-5 victory over 23-year-old Brandon Nakashima.

Dimitrov, who didn’t face a break point and had 25 winners to 17 unforced errors, won their lone meeting, a straight-setter on the grass at Queens Club in 2023.

“It was an incredible tournament, making the semifinals in my first Masters 1000,’’ said Cerundolo, who blasted 31 winners to just 10 for Ruud, a three-time major finalist. “Tennis is like that; you can be playing really good but if the results aren’t there you don’t feel all the [fruits] of your work, After that I broke into the Top 50 and it changed everything.”

The rain delay caused the cancellation of the evening round-of-16 matchup of top-seeded Alexander Zverev and 20-year-old French star Arthur Fils until Wednesday afternoon. The sweet-16 match between Czech countryman Tomas Machac and 19-year-old wunderkind Jakub Mensik never took place because Machac pulled out with an illness.

The walkover sends Mensik into his eighth ATP quarterfinal and second Masters 1000 quarters (Shanghai 2024) where he will face the winner of Zverev-Fils. He has never faced the German but lost to Fils in the Next Gen (short sets) tournament last December.

Following the 4-hour rain delay on Stadium Court, all-time major leader Novak Djokovic, the fourth seed, wasted no time in spanking 23-year-old Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 6-2, 6-2.

After an early break, Djokovic, 37, trailed 0-2 but in the 2-2 game, chair umpire Fergus Murphy gave the slender Serb a time violation. Djokovic held serve, and on the changeover gave Murphy a piece of his mind. A fired-up Djoker won the next nine games on a trot (and 12 of the last 14) to wrap up the 83-minute beatdown.

“I hope and wish the Novak that you saw tonight and at the same time I work hard not to have the Novak who played at Indian Wells,’’ said Djokovic, who had lost three consecutive matches before coming to Miami, where he has another home.

“The consistency of the level of tennis nowadays for me is more challenging than it was 10, five years ago and I know that. That’s definitely not due to a lack of hours on the practice court and in the gym. The dedication is there.”

Djokovic, arguably the favorite to win his record seventh Miami Open title, won 54 percent of his world-class return of serves and smacked 18 winners to 17 unforced errors. Eight of the top 11 men seeds have departed, leaving a confident Djokovic in the running for his record seventh Miami Open title.

“It makes it a bit more challenging for me to maintain the level,” he continued. “When I’m playing the way I played in all three matches here, particularly tonight, of course, I’m enjoying myself and I still prove to myself and others that I can play at the highest level so I want to keep going and keep exploring the possibilities of reaching the highest level and fighting for the biggest trophies like the Miami Open.”

After making an incredible retrieval of a lob, Djokovic proudly showed off his 38-year-old wheels to his box where coach Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Juan-Martin del Potro nodded their approval. The four greats have won a combined 51 majors.

Djokovic, now 8-1 against Musetti, will play American Sebastian Korda Tuesday night, after the 24-year-old outlasted an 11-minute light delay (as the dark clouds hovered over the stadium), a short delay to cover a railing that caused a glare on the court, a four-hour rain suspension and finally ageless Frenchman Gael Monfils, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

“I don’t really trust his age, he’s just flying out there,’’ said Korda, who avenged a 7-6, 7-6 round-of-64 loss to the 38-year-old showman two weeks ago at Indian Wells.

Korda showed his class when play started after a brief rain delay. He won the last point before the downpour, but noticed Monfils was slipping. He graciously told the chair umpire to ignore the point and start fresh when they resume play.

Korda, who used the rain delay to pick his fantasy hockey team’s lineup, remembers the pain of a heartbreaking loss to Djokovic in the finals of Adelaide in January 2023 when the Bradenton native had match point.

“I’ve been hoping to get another chance to play him since I had that match point just to see where my game is,’’ said Korda, who’s in his fourth Masters 1000 final. “To see things I learned from that match.”

Korda’s earliest tennis memory is at this tournament when his former No. 2 ranked father, Petr, was coaching Radek Stepanek in a match at Key Biscayne.

“My Dad still calls it, The Lipton,’’ joked Korda about the longtime title of the tournament (Lipton International Tennis Championships). “He played it a ton and that was my first memory of tennis.”

Of the 19 American men in the draw, only Korda and No. Taylor Fritz have reached the quarters, as the third seed ended the amazing dream run of Lucky Loser Aussie Adam Walton, 6-3, 7-5.

On Butch Buchholz Family Court, dangerous floater Italian Matteo Berrettini saved three set points in the second-set tiebreaker before sealing a wild 6-3, 7-6 (7) victory over speedy Aussie Alex de Minaur, the 10^th-seed, on his fifth match point.

De Minaur said he was surprised he was playing today after his grueling marathon victory over Fonseca Monday night.

“I had a million chances and opportunities I had I wasn’t able to convert,’’ a disconsolate de Minaur said. “It’s frustrating. It doesn’t feel right. I’m putting so much effort for not the results I want to have.”

Fritz gets a rejuvenated and healthy big serving Berrettini, who he has never lost to in four meetings all on hard courts, and in a round-of-64 match at last summer’s US Open where Fritz became the first American major finalist since Andy Roddick in 2009.