Cerundolo and Fonseca reach Buenos Aires final

The first tournament of the South American clay-court tour is about to deliver its verdict in Buenos Aires.

While the week was marked by the retirement of Diego Schwartzman, who was beaten in the second round in his final moments as a professional tennis player, the line-up for the final is now known.

Number 5 seed Francisco Cerundolo will represent Argentina in the final. After eliminating Luciano Darderi (6-4, 6-4), his brother Juan Manuel Cerundolo (6-2, 6-3) and world number 2 Alexander Zverev (3-6, 6-3, 6-2), the world number 28 dominated Pedro Martinez (6-2, 6-4) to reach the final.

He will attempt to succeed his compatriot Facundo Diaz Acosta (who defeated the same Cerundolo in the first round of the same tournament last year) in the trophy cabinet.

His opponent will be João Fonseca. The 18-year-old Brazilian has made a name for himself in recent weeks, winning the Next Gen ATP Finals and defeating a top-10 player, Andrey Rublev, in his first-ever Grand Slam main draw match at the Australian Open.

On his preferred surface, as he himself puts it, Fonseca came from behind to defeat Laslo Djere (7-6, 5-7, 6-1) in the last four.

Francisco Cerundolo has been warned. Fonseca doesn't seem to feel the slightest pity when it comes to playing Argentinean players in Buenos Aires.

Since the start of the tournament, the 99th man in the world has already beaten three of Cerundolo's compatriots, namely Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Federico Coria and Mariano Navone. The two men will meet for the first time this Sunday.

Fonseca is looking for his first ATP 250 title, while Cerundolo has already won three titles in the category (Bastad 2022, Eastbourne 2023 and Umag 2024). The Argentine has already lost a final in Buenos Aires. It was in 2021 against the neo-retired Schwartzman.