Roland Garros 2026: Another four Argentines into the second round

Day three at Roland Garros brought another flurry of wins for Argentine tennis stars.  Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, Francisco Comesaña, Facundo Díaz Acosta, and Román Burruchaga all moved to the second round on Tuesday, with Sebastián Báez the only one out of the tournament. Buenos Aires Open 2024 champion Diaz Acosta was the first to secure a ticket for the next round.  The 25-year-old, currently 151 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings, struggled with fitness for a long time after that win, but has been trending up recently with victories at the Tigre II, Sao Leopoldo and Francavilla tournaments. Having made it through the qualifying rounds at Roland Garros, Diaz Acosta beat China’s Zhizhen Zhang (224) 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. He’ll face United States player Learner Tien (18) on Thursday. Another who secured his ticket in straight sets was Juan Manuel Cerúndolo (56). Francisco’s younger brother put in a standout performance, beating Britain’s Jacob Fearnley (125) 6-2, 7-6(0), 7-6(7).  He’s matched his best-ever performance at the French Open, although he’ll face a tough challenge to better it, as he’s set to face World No.1 Jannik Sinner from Italy on Thursday. Francisco Comesaña (102) enjoyed a return to winning ways in Paris. The Mar del Plata player, who had just one main-draw win in his last nine events — stretching all the way to March —  beat U.S. player Ethan Quinn (50) 6-4, 7-6(8), 7-6(4).  He set up a duel of Argentine beach towns, as he’ll face Villa Gesell-born Italian Luciano Darderi (17) on Thursday. Burruchaga (68), son of 1986 Football World Cup-winner Jorge, got his first-ever Grand Slam win, but it wasn’t in the best of circumstances. He benefited from the retirement of former top-ranked Argentine Sebastián Báez (64). Báez withdrew due to knee problems when the match was 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, 2-0 in favor of his rival. “Winning at a Grand Slam for the first time is nice, even though I had to play against an Argentine who wasn’t feeling well,” Burruchaga said after the match. “I wish ‘Seba’ a speedy recovery.” He’ll face off against World No. 6 Félix Auger-Aliassime from Canada on Thursday. They join Marco Trungelliti, Thiago Tirante, Francisco Cerúndolo, Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Mariano Navone and Solana Sierra for a total of ten Argentine players in the second round.