ATP Tournament in Buenos Aires, 1st round, Tuesday, 14.02.2023
The Australian Open 2023, it went very disappointingly from the German point of view. In the coming weeks and months, the players in black-red-gold now want to show that they are actually capable of much more.
In Buenos Aires, the world number 134 has set itself the goal of going far. In my hemp man Cerundolo tip, I now reveal why I am highly sceptical that he can make it to the last 16.
The crowd in Buenos Aires will naturally be hoping to see a player from their home country win the tournament. Francisco Cerundolo has gone into this 2023 with the intention of having a really solid season.
The 24-year-old is seeded fifth here at the Argentina Open, so he is definitely one of the favourites for the title. At the Australian Open, he was already eliminated in the 3rd round, but losing 3-1 to Felix Auger-Aliassime is quite acceptable.
In Cordoba, Cerundolo had expected a lot, but failed due to his own fitness. After a hard-fought victory against Federico Delbonis in three sets, he had to retire with an injury during the match against Federico Coria.
Now, however, he feels fit to be on the starting list in Buenos Aires. At a tournament of which he might well have positive memories. Two years ago, he played his way into the final, but was clearly defeated by Diego Schwartzman.
In 2022, too, it was the small Argentine who prevented Cerundolo from being even more successful. At 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, it was much closer. The world number 30 is ranked more than 100 places ahead of Yannick Hanfmann.
But the odds are relatively close, not only at Bet-at-home, where the average is 2.45 to 1.50. Incidentally, the two met on court for the first time in 2022, interestingly also in Argentina.
In the Buenos Aires qualifier, in this very tournament, Cerundolo won 7-6, 6-1. For Yannick Hanfmann, a defeat in straight two sets would of course be a huge disappointment.
Thanks to his high position in the world rankings, the 31-year-old had to start in the qualifying round. This has already been overcome, because Hanfmann is not in a bad mood this year.
At the AO, he reached the main draw, but then gave away a 2:0 lead against Rinky Hijikata. At the following Challenger, Hanfmann lost in three sets to David Goffin in the quarter-finals.
What was very disappointing, however, was his performance in Cordoba, which was inexplicable after losing to Luciano Darderi in the qualifiers. In Buenos Aires, he has now secured his place in the main draw.
In fact, he already met a Cerundolo in the qualifiers, namely Francisco’s younger brother, Juan Manuel. The German prevailed in three sets before he conjured up a great 6-1, 6-0 win over Hugo Gaston on the court.
Hanfmann’s last performances were not really consistent. Everyone knows what he can do, but unfortunately also that he doesn’t always bring it to the court. A win over Francisco Cerundolo would be a surprise in any case.
My Hemp Man Cerundolo Tip
Yannick Hanfmann has big plans in Buenos Aires, wants to finally get another really strong result outside of a Challenger. Will Francisco Cerundolo not be too big for him?
The Argentinean has already watched Hanfmann win against his younger brother and is clearly ahead in the world rankings. To be honest, I can’t imagine that he will fail against the number 134 in the world. That’s why I’m also betting:
Cerundolo wins against Hanfmann!
