Pablo Andújar, who already managed to end a very bad run of results in the last Australian Open, took another little step in Buenos Aires to find better and better feelings and return to being the uncomfortable and competitive player that he always was. The Cuenca, who debuted last Tuesday at the Argentina Open with an undeniable victory over local Juan Ignacio Lóndero (6-3 and 6-0), He beat the Italian Gianluca Mager (6-4 and 7-6 (5)) this Thursday with similar solvency and has two consecutive victories in the final draw of ATP tournaments for the first time in 18 months. The last time he repeated his triumph, and he did it twice, was at the 2019 US Open, when he beat Bublik, after beating Edmund and Sonego in the days before, before falling in the round of 16 against Monfils. Since then, his balance was bad: 5-19 until 2021, year in which he has a 3-3 record.
Against Mager, Andújar almost always controlled the game and did not break down in the crazy start of the second set, when the two players were unable to maintain their serves in the first five games. The Spanish benefited from that tangle of breaks, who did not give up his service again for the rest of the match., already more orderly and logical. This led to a tiebreaker in which Pablo was better with a 3-1 start. This Friday (around 7:00 p.m.) he will see the Argentine in the quarterfinals Francisco Cerúndolo, brother of Juan Manuel, champion last week in Córdoba against Albert Ramos, who beat the unpredictable French in three sets (4-6, 6-3 and 6-1) Benoit paire. The Catalan, for his part, will seek the pass to the semifinals at 17:00 against the Indian Sumit Nagal.
Munar is also reunited
Jaume Munar was also able to savor after a long time the sensation of winning two games in a row on the ATP circuit. The Mallorcan won by 7-6 (4) and 6-4 to American Frances Tiafoe, eighth favorite of the tournament, and retaliated from a bad streak that haunted him even before his compatriot Andújar. On Tuesday he had dismounted the Argentine Facundo Díaz. The Rafa Nadal Academy disciple did not win two matches in a row since the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell 2019, when he beat Tiafoe on April 23, after having previously eliminated Pedro Sousa. Thiem dismounted him in the second round. Since then and until this 2021, Munar's balance was 5-21 and so far this year he credits a 2-1. After that Godó, he fell in the first round of eight tournaments in a row. Last year he was hampered by injuries and the pandemic. In fact, he did not make his debut this season until last week, with a defeat in Córdoba against Chilean Jarry.
Against Tiafoe, Jaume was also reunited with his best game. He left for the gallery some of the best shots of the tournament so far, especially the response to a bad shot from Tiafoe that he solved with a wonderful race winning shot. He was also successful in answering his rival's serves, with some direct winners from the rest. And he managed to break the serve of a hitting tennis player three times and with a good hand in that luck. In addition, he withstood the pressure in his turns very well and closed the victory with a break. Good news for him and his confidence. The one you will need to face this Friday (around 00:00) his next rival, who will be Diego Schwartzman.
Table and results.