Australian Open 2026: Cerúndolo and Etcheverry through to the third round

There’ll be at least two Argentine tennis stars in the 2026 Australian Open third round, as Francisco Cerúndolo (world No.20) and Tomás Etcheverry (61) won their respective games on Tuesday.  They were the only positives for the day, as Thiago Tirante and Francisco Comesaña were unable to progress. Cerúndolo was the first to seal his ticket for the next round. Argentina’s top ranked men’s player completed the job with flying colors, steamrolling Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (66) 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, in a 1 hour and 37 minute match. “I’m happy, I felt comfortable in the game,” Cerúndolo told the press after the match. “Apart from having my serve broken at the start, I was playing well. It was a tough match and I pulled it off with great conviction. Right now I don’t want to tinker with anything, I’m just looking forward to resting with these good feelings.” It’ll be the third time the 27-year-old reaches the third round in Melbourne, as he did in 2023 and 2025. His next rival will be another heavy hitter: former world No.5 Andrey Rublev, who defeated Portugal’s Jaime Faria 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Cerúndolo leads the head-to-head tally against the Russian, having beaten him in three of their four previous encounters, although the last time they faced off was in 2024. Etcheverry wins to fans’ delirium After that, it was Etcheverry’s turn to extend his run, as he matched up against Brit Arthur Fery (185), who was fresh off beating world No.22 Italian Flavio Cobolli. Fery proved no push over, fighting tooth and nail before finally succumbing in the tie break of the first set, as Etcheverry took it after nearly an hour and 20 minutes. After that, the La Plata native took control of the match and managed to impose himself, sealing the win 7/6 (1), 6-1, 6-3 in two hours and 45 minutes, to the delirium of Argentine fans in the stands. “We are at home, we are at home here in Australia,” he said as he prepared for the aftermath interview. “There are a lot of fans here, so many Argentines. I wasn’t expecting that.” Such was the ruckus created by the Argentine fans that the official Australian Open account on X shared a video of the chants during the match and Etcheverry’s post-win celebrations with the fans. “This is what I enjoy the most. I love playing tennis with the fans. It’s like the Davis Cup, only we’re doing it at a Grand Slam. I love playing tennis with this energy.” The win will undoubtedly help Etcheverry keep up his resurgence. It’s only the second time since last October he’s piled up two wins in a row, and the first time since the 2024 US Open that he makes it past the second round at a major. “Last year was hard,” he admitted. “Now I’m smiling again, enjoying my tennis again. We’re privileged to do what we love the most. Looking at [the fans], it’s a memory I’ll treasure all my life.” He’ll now face world No.10 Kazakh Alexander Bublik, who’s enjoying his career-high ranking after winning a tournament in Hong Kong. Tirante and Comesaña out It wasn’t all good news for Argentines in the Australian Open, as Thiago Tirante (103) and Francisco Comesaña (68) bowed out. Tirante fell 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to United States player Tommy Paul (20), never being able to find his best tennis.  It was a solid couple of days for the Argentine player, however. His win in the first round will likely see him jump back into the top 100 in the men’s ATP rankings, professional tennis’ governing body, as he prepares to lead the Argentine team that will face South Korea in Busan on February 7 and 8 in the Davis Cup Qualifiers. It was a similar story for Comesaña, who faced a difficult task against Frances Tiafoe (34) from the U.S. The Argentine fell 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a rain-delayed affair played late into the Australian night. The only other Argentine remaining in the men’s singles draw is Sebastián Báez (36), who’s set to take on Argentine-born Italian Luciano Darderi (25) in Wednesday’s morning shift.