MIAMI OPEN PRESENTED BY ITAú

April 1, 2022

Francisco Cerundolo

Press Conference

C. RUUD/F. Cerundolo

6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Bad luck, Fran. But I'm sure you can look back at the two weeks in Miami as a great step in your career. Can you just talk about this experience over the last couple of weeks?

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Yeah, thank you. Of course now I'm a bit angry, mad, but yeah, I have to see the whole two weeks it's been amazing. I think I play my best tennis into these two weeks.

I win my first match in a Masters 1000, I play my first main draw, I made it to the semifinals. I beat, I think, the best players that I beat in my career so far.

Yeah, it's been overall two great weeks. I think I will be happier later than now, but yeah, it's been amazing, and I'm so proud of what I have done.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Congratulations on an amazing run here. I detected some nerves, maybe 4-5 in the first set, maybe a couple of breakpoints in the second set. Did nerves get to you a little bit, especially at 4-5 in the first set?

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Yeah, to be honest, at that moment I wasn't nervous. Probably, yeah, I made some big mistakes. That cost me a set.

But, yeah, at the beginning I was nervous and I think I played my best two games. I broke. I was up 1-0 and have, I think, an advantage to 2-0, and there I was nervous. It was a little bit, I don't know, scary.

But then, after that, yeah, I couldn't hold my serve. Yeah, probably in the 4-5 I didn't play really well. Made a double fault, missed two forehands. On the breakpoints, yeah, I wasn't nervous. I think, yeah, I hit really two passing shots very bad to the net.

Yeah, he played better than me today, I think. I couldn't play my best. I was playing No. 8 in the world, and I should have played my best to try to win and I couldn't today.

Q. Second set again, I think it was 1-1 and a couple of big breakpoints, couldn't get them. And now he's up 2-1 and he broke you. Looked like it broke your maybe spirit at that point at 3-1.

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Yeah, I had breakpoints in two games in the second set and I couldn't make them. And then I think he like relax a little bit when he hold his serve 2-1 and he started playing better, hitting the ball harder.

Yeah, when he broke me there at 3-1, I think he served really good in that game and I couldn't do like anything. When he broke me in the 4-1, I made a mistake in the last point, forehand out. 5-1 was too much for me to come back. It was almost impossible.

But, yeah, I was there, but the momentum was really difficult. I was not playing well mentally, a bit down. He was so relax. He had a lot of score to, I don't know, to risk a little bit more, to, I don't know, serve better, hit his forehand. Yeah, I was far away.

Q. (Question about who was in the box.)

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Today it was my coach, my physio, my manager, Maiano (phonetic), one of my best friends, and I think there was the sponsor of my brother and...

Q. Any relatives? Your brother?

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: No, my brother wasn't here today. He's in Europe.

Q. (No mic.)

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Yeah, my sponsors.

Q. Clay is come next. How comfortable are you on this surface, and what are your purpose for this part of the season?

FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Well, yeah. Really excited to play clay court. Now I'm gonna take a rest these two weeks. I think I'm not going to play Houston next week. I don't think I'm going to play Monte-Carlo. I will start after that.

Yeah, really excited, because I grew up playing on clay. I love playing there, and I think this gave me a lot of confidence because I play really good on hard courts, I play against really top players.

So now I know what it looks like to play with these top guys, so I think I can practice more and know what to practice to improve my game. So on clay courts I can do as well as here or better (smiling).