buenos aires
Cerundolo grabs a win by erasing Buenos Aires heartbreak
Top seed Serendolo entered the final without losing a set and competed with Dadri for the trophy
February 14, 2026
Marcelo Endeli/Getty Images
Francisco Cerundolo defeated Tomas Martin Echeverri on Saturday to reach his third Buenos Aires final.
Written by ATP Staff
Another win.
That’s the distance between Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo and his first title on home soil after beating compatriot and seventh-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the IEB+ Argentina Open final.
Cerundolo has reached the finals of the ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires twice before, but fell short each time. The 27-year-old will now try to lift the trophy with a third chance on Sunday when he takes on second seed Luciano Darderi.
“Just win the last game. I think that’s the only thing I have to do now,” Cerundolo said in an on-court interview. “I made it to the finals for the first time here [was] against possible peaks [Diego] Schwarzman at the best moment of his career, [ninth] in the world. I’m not mature enough to compete in these games. He killed me.
“Then last year I had an unbelievable game [Joao] Fonseca. I thought we had a good final, but he was a little better than me. So I will try my best to be better than my opponent tomorrow. “
Cerundolo currently has a 15-7 record in Buenos Aires events, according to the Infosys ATP Win-Loss Index. Although he has reached the finals in 2021 and 2025, this is the first time he has not lost a set in the championship.
In an all-Argentine match against Echeverri, Serendolo relied on his big forehand at critical moments, winning 39% of return points, putting constant pressure on Echeverry, and taking a 3-2 lead in the Lexus ATP Head2Head Series.
“Super happy. The conditions were really difficult today, super windy. It was really hard to play. I think we all tried our best. It was difficult. We managed to hit good points. I thought I hit my serve really well… I think that was the key. I didn’t let him get too confident on his serve.”
Dudley, who won three titles last season, will compete in his first championship game of 2026 on Sunday. The second seed, playing on his 24th birthday, defeated fourth seed Sebastian Baez 7-6(2), 6-1 in one hour and 18 minutes.
“I thought the first set was very tough. He played at a really good level. But I stayed focused in the tiebreak. I think that was the key. I was serving really well the whole match,” Dudley said. “It’s my birthday today, so it’s really special to play in Buenos Aires. All my family is here, my team, everyone is here, so I’m happy.”
The Italian, ranked 21st in the PIF ATP live rankings, will enter the top 20 for the first time if he defeats Cerundolo.
