Latin American players made an immediate impact as the Cincinnati Open main draw began Thursday, with Argentina’s Mariano Navone and Thiago AgustÃn Tirante advancing while several more players from the region prepared to take the court Friday. Tirante produced the most dramatic result of the opening day, outlasting Britain’s Jan Choinski 7-6(9), 6-7(7), 7-6(4) in a match that lasted just under three hours. All three sets were decided by tiebreaks, with the Argentine finally pulling away in the deciding breaker.
His reward is one of the biggest matches available at this year’s tournament. Tirante will face third-seeded Novak Djokovic in the second round after the Serbian received a first-round bye. Navone had a more straightforward opening victory, defeating Belgium’s Raphael Collignon 6-3, 7-6(3). The Argentine will next face No. 28 seed Alexander Blockx.
Not every Argentine advanced. Román Andrés Burruchaga pushed Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff to three sets before losing 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3. Camilo Ugo Carabelli was also eliminated, falling 6-3, 6-3 to Miomir Kecmanovic. On the women’s side, Colombia’s Camila Osorio won the opening set against American Taylor Townsend but could not hold the advantage. Townsend recovered for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory, ending Osorio’s Cincinnati run in the first round.
The Latin American presence continues Friday with a busy schedule across the grounds. Argentina’s Sebastián Báez faces former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov on P&G Stadium Court. Juan Manuel Cerúndolo meets qualifier Mark Lajal, while Marco Trungelliti, who came through qualifying, faces Hamad Medjedovic.
Colombia will have two players worth watching. Nicolás MejÃa takes on Australia’s Adam Walton, while qualifier Emiliana Arango has one of the highest-profile assignments of the day against seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams on Grandstand. Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo will also make his Cincinnati main-draw appearance against French qualifier Kyrian Jacquet.
Several of the region’s better-known players received first-round byes and are waiting for the second round. Brazil’s João Fonseca is seeded No. 23, Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo is No. 22, Argentina’s Francisco Cerúndolo is No. 20 and Tomás MartÃn Etcheverry is No. 26. Their presence gives Latin America several opportunities to remain deep in the draw once the seeded players begin joining the tournament.
Fonseca, one of the most closely watched young players in men’s tennis, will face the winner of the first-round match between Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp. Tabilo will open against Struff, while Francisco Cerúndolo and Etcheverry are also awaiting their first matches after receiving byes.
With Navone and Tirante already through and another group of Latin American players beginning their campaigns Friday, the region has plenty at stake during the opening weekend in Cincinnati.
