It was not enough for him to be the first Argentine brother to appear together in 1981, from Carlos and Alejandro Gattiker to Quito and Kitzabel in the main draw of the ATP tournament over the last thirty years. Juan Manuel and Francisco Cerondolo He has been the protagonist of a venture that deserves a place in the annals, not in tennis. The first, at the age of 19, gave himself a wonderful week by winning the ATP tournament in Cordoba, which he took part in for the first time, in which he began qualifying: an exploit (he was No. 335 in the rankings) that allowed him a After earning 154 spots in the shot and climbing to number 181. Second, the 22-year-old, not to move on shortly thereafter, reached his first ATP final in Buenos Aires at number 137 in the world rankings – he also went through a qualifier – stopping only in front of compatriot Diego Schwartzman, seeded first. And at number 9 in the world. The last brothers to hit “back to back” in the finals of two consecutive ATP tournaments were German Alexander and Misha Zverev in May 2017, one winning in Rome and the other reaching the last act in Geneva. “What Juanma did in Cordoba was a decisive inspiration for me – from today’s number 112, the franchise’s new best ranking – we have a wonderful relationship and what is happening with us is incredible. From day one Everything has changed. Day “.
Father Coach: “Stimulated by Papi’s Explosion”
His father Alejandro trains him, Known as Toto, who had previously worked with Jose Acuso: he was there by his side when he played the final in 2001 in Buenos Aires at the age of 18. Since then, such a young Argentine was never seen in the ATP Finals before Juan Manuel. And the father-coach (his mother is a sports psychologist instead of Maria Loose) spoke of the difficulties children have faced in recent seasons, amid the soon-to-be-innovated transition journey that led to an ITF futures and then effects He had given a different ranking about the epidemic. He explained how important it was to see the explosion. Genetic sinner. “He was not strong as a junior, he is one of the weirdest events of recent years – Cerundolo Senior’s decision – Many times we have thought: If he did this, we might as well get there ”.
Visit to Italy in August 2020
Perhaps this was the inspiration to protest ‘Serandolos’ a year earlier, when the tour was interrupted by an epidemic and they locked up a home with their family in Buenos Aires, which could have been without a solid idea. Future. Yet Francisco continued to train physically, also from wrist injuries and tendonitis of the foot. In August the decision to go to Europe with Tomás Echeverri, despite the two Argentine brothers having very short training sessions and often only hitting balls against a wall. “We didn’t know what else to do. We traveled to Italy and were quarantined in Arezzo before starting the competition – the biggest in Cerondolo explains – the journey was tough, we were full of doubt and nervousness. A few months. After the tour. However, we were more relaxed. “Inevitably, the first few weeks were complicated, lacking in confidence and speed. Then something began to change inside Francisco and the effort and hard work he put into it began to bear fruit. The first semi-final at the Challenger level in Sibiu (Romania), the first circuit then to win 17 of the final 19 games in that circuit in 2020, winning titles in Split, Guayaquil and Campinas to climb one hundred positions and significantly. Contact the top 100 of repute.
Francisco: “I already had tennis, I needed confidence”
“My mental capacity and my maturity have really increased in a year and a half. It’s important to feel good in every aspect, but above all to believe in yourself and to know that you can do it? Best week in a career?” A few months. Was already playing, but because of the rankings I had to reach a certain level. Since October I’ve been making better use of my tennis and reaching so many finals in succession has been truly incredible. The 22-year-old, who made the 2020s The last quarter has been achieved thanks to an agreement between the University of Palermo and the ATP, which has started degree courses in economics and finance by passing five exams. In parallel, Juan Manuel is left-handed and usually a sport more than clay. Worked with strokes from below, played seven finals at Futures (he had already won three in 2019, when he was still a junior). And with the feat in Cordoba – the most in the ATP event since 1990. Low-ranking fifth champion – he gave his father the first antidote on the field Giving up, he assured that he deserved the top fifty in the world but with uncertainty when he started showing it. One thing is certain: if previously there were very few fans who knew him, now that he has surprised everyone, Sarnamel Sendololo will be dug into the collective memory of those who follow tennis.
Family Matters: McEnroe, Williams, Safin and Murray
The two Argentine ‘back to back’ exploits bring back the tales of the tennis brothers, a situation that is not very low. Without going too far back in time, after American Sandy and Jean Mayer, both in the top 10 in the eighties in the world, one of the most famous couples is McEnroe: if John has won a couple of singles and 148 tournaments in doubles and joint. Five Davis Cups with the States, Patrick was still an outstanding player who reached 28th in the world rankings in 1995, was able to win Roland Garros in doubles and climb to No. 3 in the “double ranking”. With some significant intersections: two tournaments won in pairs, the last singles John won in his career at the 1992 Chicago Grand Prix final at the expense of Patrick, and the CBS commentary booth shared the end of his career.
Staying in the states, there is no doubt that Venus and Serena Williams are the most famous sisters in tennis history – both No. 1 – and with their 7 Grand Slam victories, the eldest led the way for Serena’s 23 titles. Even Russia can boast of two world numbers with a racket in the same family: in 2009 Dinara Safina managed to reach the first chair by emulating the feat achieved by her brother Marat for nine years. Scotland’s brothers Andy and Jamie Murray are no less, born fifteen months after each other and both pursued straight from their early years on the fields by mother Judy, topping the rankings at different times, in a single and Second in double.
Two Berettini and Raul and Nuria Brancacio in Italy
Other cases of protagonist brothers in the circuit are Olivier and Christophe Rochus, who were able to top Belgium in the early 2000s (Italy knows a little about it, republished in Davis for the first time because of them .. .), Austrian Gerald and Juergen Melzer (second former top ten in singles), but even more than Bob and Mike Bryan, “Federer of Doubles”: Stars and Stripes twins retired at 42 in 2020, with 119. The trophy on display, which includes 16 majors in 30 finals, added Olympic gold in London 2012 and ten seasons as number one. And speaking of doubles, older fans will remember Americans Luke and Murphy Jensen, who won Roland Garros (1993), but remained above all for their eccentric look (long hair and extravagant clothes) and superb plays.
Apart from the aforementioned Germans Zverev, Mikel and Ilyas Yammer, Svedes, of Ethiopian origin, is now active in the circuit, while Mateo and Jacopo Beretini stand outside the national boundaries: if the former has been in the top ten since the 2019 ride for a year and a half, The younger brother is trying to carve out a place in the ITF tournament in the professional circuit making his bones, which Mato also competed for a long time. Or in the case of Raoul and Nuria Brancacio, the youngsters of Torre del Greco are able to hit the ITF level in Antalya (Turkey) in a week from each other. Two weeks to tell, to put on Fred Bongusto, like ‘Serandolos’.