Cerundolo brothers book second-round clash in Buenos Aires—as stressed dad watches on

They say being a parent is the toughest job in the world, and on Tuesday in Buenos Aires no one looked more stressed than Alejandro “Toto” Cerundolo.

The Argentine former-player-turned-coach is the father of two ATP Tour players, No. 5 seed Francisco Cerundolo and qualifier Juan Manuel Cerundolo. And if it wasn’t enough that both were fighting for a second-round spot in their hometown, at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club where they grew up playing—by some quirk of the scheduling, the brothers were competing at the same time and on adjacent courts.

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Younger brother Juan Manuel, 23, had made his way through the qualifying rounds to reach the main draw, where he was facing countryman Roman Andres Burruchaga on Estadio 2.

At the same time, Francisco, 26, was opening his Buenos Aires campaign against Italy’s Luciano Darderi on the tournament’s main stadium, Court Guillermo Vilas.

All the while dad Toto was spotted by cameras watching all the action both courts from a vantage point at the top of the stands, pacing back and forth and looking visibly stressed.

At one point, the eldest Cerundolo called out, “Let’s go Juanma!” to his younger son—not realizing his older son was mid-rally in his own match. After winning the point, Francisco turned to him and shouted, “Can you be quiet?!”

When the umpire scolded him for speaking that way to a spectator, Francisco looked a bit exasperated as he replied, “That’s my dad…”

Thankfully, both brothers won their respective matches, with Juan Manuel narrowly edging past Burruchaga 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-5 and Francisco dispatching Darderi 6-4, 6-4—the latter’s first tour-level match since the Australian Open.

While they will be meeting for the first time in an ATP Tour-level match, Wednesday’s clash is far from the first time these brothers’ paths have crossed in tennis.

The younger Juan Manuel, a talented junior, made his breakthrough first by winning his maiden ATP Tour title as a 19-year-old on home soil in Cordoba in 2021. A week later, it was Francisco’s turn to make a splash as he reached his first ATP final in Buenos Aires. The elder’s progress has been a bit more slow and steady, and at world No. 28 Francisco is now Argentina’s top-ranked player with three ATP titles to his name.

“I don't know how many families can say that two brothers are playing in the round of 16 at their home ATP. Whatever happens tomorrow, we all win!” wrote Francisco on X, sharing a childhood photo of the pair decked out in Argentina national team gear.

“It's a pride to play a night session at Lawn Tennis,” he added, tagging his brother’s account, “Let’s enjoy it!” Cheeky Juan Manuel responded: “Get the popcorn ready!”

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