By Janina Nuno Rios
NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Argentine Francisco Cerundolo believes this is the most wide-open men’s field at the U.S. Open in recent memory, highlighting the depth of the tour after securing an extraordinary comeback win over ninth seed and former finalist Taylor Fritz.
The 24th seed fought back from two sets and a break down against the American to claim a 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory over his fellow 28-year-old in Saturday’s opening match at Arthur Ashe Stadium and spring one of the upsets of the tournament.
With only four top-10 seeds left in the draw, Cerundolo said he sees a remarkably similar level across the men’s tour.
“It shows you how even the circuit is right now, how tight every match is, how difficult it is to win matches, because anything can happen right now,” he told reporters.
“A lot of players are playing good. The level, it’s super tight. It’s open to everyone. Everyone can win.”
Fritz was not the only big name to fall early in New York, with Novak Djokovic, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur among the other seeds already sent packing at Flushing Meadows.
In the next round Cerundolo will face Belgium’s Alexander Blockx, who also pulled off an upset of his own by eliminating Italian fifth seed Flavio Cobolli later on Saturday.
With the draw blown wide open, Cerundolo, who has reached the fourth round in New York for the first time, is confident he can ride the momentum to make his deepest Grand Slam run.
“I’m going for more, I’m not settling,” he said in an interview for Argentine media.
The South American will be seeking revenge against Blockx, having lost to the Belgian in their only previous meeting in the last 16 at the Madrid Masters 1000 earlier this year.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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