Australian Open 2026: Cerúndolo beats world No.15, becomes only Argentine in the last 16

Argentina’s top-ranked player Francisco Cerúndolo shocked world No.15 Andrey Rublev, beating the Russian 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the 2026 Australian Open.  Cerúndolo, world No. 21, played a great match, taking the win in 2 hours and 7 minutes. He is now the last Argentine standing, after countryman Tomás Etcheverry was eliminated later in the Melbourne night. The 27-year-old was on the front foot from the start, serving a nearly flawless first set and committing just five unforced errors. He managed to break Rublev’s serve and wrap the set on his terms. In the second set, Rubleb upped the ante and even had chances to break Cerúndolo’s serve, but neither was able to gain an advantage. In the tie break, the Argentine showed greater composure and took it with relative ease. The third set looked like a potential turning point for the match, as Rublev went on a 2-0 lead. However, three double faults by the Russian in his next turn of serve allowed the Argentine to get back in the game. He went on to break at 3-2 and wrapped the rest of the set with his strong serve. “I’m thrilled because I’m playing great tennis,” he told the press after the match. “I’m feeling great on the court. It was my third time at this instance, so I really wanted to win and settle the score.” Cerúndolo went on to thank the support of the Argentine fans, who’ve been a mainstay of every match where their countrymen have featured.  “It’s great to have so much support so far from home,” he said. “It’s crazy how the fans make you feel. I want to thank them because I know it’s hard to come all the way here.” It’s the first time Cerúndolo has reached the fourth round at the Australian Open. It ties his best result at any Grand Slam, as he reached the fourth round at the 2023 and 2024 French Open. Cerúndolo will next face the world No.3, Germany’s Alexander Zverev, on Saturday. The Argentine leads the head-to-head tally 3-2, though his wins have come only in clay-court tournaments. Etcheverry fought hard, but waved goodbye The other Argentine tennis star vying for a spot in the fourth round was Tomás Etcheverry. The La Plata native faced a tough challenge, taking on one of the most in-form players on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour, Kazakh Alexander Bublik.  Despite regularly matching up to Bublik’s powerful serve and eccentric shot-making, Etcheverry fell 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-4 in two hours and 37 minutes of play. It will go down as a good run for Etcheverry in Australia. He tied his best career result at a Grand Slam and will likely return to the top 60 in the men’s ATP rankings.