Francisco Cerúndolo beat Otto Virtanen yesterday 6-3, 3-6 and 7-6 (7-3) in the second point of the series that Argentina refused to draw against Finland 1-1 in the city of Espoo, for the 2023 Qualifiers of the Davis Cup.
The Argentine team needed a victory to equalize the series, which had the locals up, after Emil Ruusuvuori’s victory over Pedro Cachín.
Cerúndolo started the match firmly, beyond the pressure to win, and managed to close the first set with a promising 6-3.
But far from falling after losing the first set, the Finnish Virtanen raised his level and managed to win the second set 6-3.
Already in the third game, Cerúndolo and Virtanen ended up in a tie break. The Finn started with a 3-1 but from then on Cerúndolo displayed his best tennis and won the match by winning six consecutive points and putting Argentina level on the scoreboard.
On the other hand, Cachín, number 68 in the ATP ranking, fell to Emil Ruusuvuori (43rd) 7-5, 6-3 in the first match of the series.
The 27-year-old from Cordoba had a very uncomfortable match and fell in straight sets after an hour and 24 minutes of the match.
The series will continue today starting at 8 o’clock with the doubles between Andrés Molteni (36) and Máximo González (45) against the locals Ruusuvuori (43) and Harri Heliovaara. Then the last two games will close the series with Cerúndolo against Ruusuvuori and then Cachín will complete against Virtanen.
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