Cerundolo Surprises De Minaur and Secures His First Quarterfinal at Indian Wells

Francisco Cerundolo created one of the day's surprises in California.

Facing Alex De Minaur, the world No. 10 and one of the in-form players this season (14 wins, 4 losses), the Argentine managed to frustrate his opponent, winning 7-6, 6-3.

It was the Australian who initially seemed to have the upper hand, earning 13 break points in the first set. However, his lack of efficiency (only 2 break points converted) proved costly.

Despite numerous errors from both sides (78 unforced errors in total), Cerundolo was more effective on the crucial points (5 breaks converted out of 6 opportunities) to secure his third career Masters 1000 quarterfinal on hard courts, following Miami in 2022 and 2023.

He could face world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, should the latter defeat Grigor Dimitrov.