Alexander Zverev (Germany), seeded No. 1 in the tournament schedule, was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 clay court tennis tournament in Buenos Aires (Argentina), which has a prize pool of $688,985, BTA reports. The Australian Open finalist lost to the home team and fifth seed Francisco Cherundolo 6-3, 3-6, 2-6.
Battling the windy conditions early on, Cherundolo fell behind by a set and a break, and Zverev seemed to have taken control of the match. But with a roaring Argentine crowd behind him, trailing 1-2, Cherundolo found his rhythm and broke the German's serve twice, winning four games in a row.
After a brief rain delay, the Argentine served for the second set and tied the score at 6-3. He continued confidently, breaking early, then saving three break points in a tense fifth game. From there, he continued to exploit the error-prone Zverev to cruise to victory in two hours and 12 minutes.
Cherundolo will face Pedro Martinez (Spain) in the semifinals, who advanced after Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) withdrew from their quarterfinal due to injury.
18-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca triumphed over home favorite Mariano Navone 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to reach his first ATP semifinal. Fonseca twice overcame a break down in the second set and saved two match points late in the third before clinching an epic victory in two hours and 53 minutes in front of a home crowd in the Argentine capital.
Fonseca is the youngest semifinalist on clay since Carlos Alcaraz won the title in Umag in 2021.