Cerundolo sees wide-open men’s field after Fritz upset at US Open

New York (AFP) - Argentine tennis player Francisco Cerundolo sees the US Open men's singles field as one of the most open in recent memory following his stunning comeback victory over ninth seed Taylor Fritz. The 24th seed stunned the American by defeating him 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the opening match at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday.

Cerundolo, who is the first Argentine to reach the fourth round in New York since 1981, highlighted the depth of the men's tour after only four top-10 seeds remain. He told reporters, "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.

A lot of players are playing good. The level, it's super tight. It's open to everyone. Everyone can win." Fellow top seeds Novak Djokovic, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Alex de Minaur were among those early exits from the US Open. Cerundolo will face Belgium's Alexander Blockx in the next round, who also stunned his opponent by eliminating fifth-seeded Italian Flavio Cobolli earlier on Saturday.

With the draw wide open, Cerundolo is confident he can capitalize on the momentum to achieve his deepest Grand Slam run yet and seek revenge against Blockx, whom he lost to in their last 16 meeting at the Madrid Masters 1000 earlier this year.