"He deserved a week like this" - Juan Manuel Cerundolo speaks on Francisco's magical run in Miami

Francisco Cerundolo has put the tennis world on notice, as the Argentine has defied the odds to reach the semifinals of the Miami Open.

The World No.103 earned wins over the likes of Reilly Opelka, Gael Monfils and Frances Tiafoe en route to his quarterfinal showdown with ninth seed Jannik Sinner. The Italian was forced to retire in the match after trailing 1-4, granting Cerundolo passage to his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal.

Although many people have doubted the Argentine's capability, his brother Juan Manuel, who also competes on the ATP Tour, has been his biggest advocate.

"He deserved a week like this... He looked like he could do it coming in, his tennis was already there, he just needed a bit of luck." said Juan Manuel. "Last year they froze his ranking, he was on the verge of the Top 100 and he lost confidence. But now he’s showing the level he has and always has had.

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“This is crazy, we talked about it when we were younger; we have been together through every stage of his career and I’ll always want the greatest of success for him and it makes me happy to have shared this week with him, although it’s a shame that I lost first and we couldn’t play each other.”

Francisco has earned himself a place on the brink of the Top 50 tennis players in the world by joining the list of Argentines in the semi-finals of the Miami Masters 1000 this century, which includes David Nalbandian (2006), Juan Monaco(2012) and Juan Martin del Potro (2009 and 2018).

Cerundolo is scheduled to face Casper Ruud in the semifinals tomorrow.