Nakashima erases Cerúndolo’s early charge to win on Rio debut

Brandon Nakashima beat top seed Francisco Cerúndolo 3-1 in quarters (13-11, 10-18, 16-15, 12-11) on Thursday, the second match of UTS Rio presented by XP’s opening night, closing out two single-point deciders on his UTS debut.

Nakashima took the first quarter 13-11 before Cerúndolo hit back to dominate the second 18-10, his most comfortable spell of the match. Cerúndolo, speaking in Spanish afterwards, put it plainly.

That quarter I won it – the one I was leading, I won it easily,” he said. “But then I lost the third and the fourth by one point. Those are very small details. I think this format gives you no margin for error – it’s all very even, and it comes down to one or two decisive points. Today they went his way. He played a little better than me on those points. I fumbled an easy ball there, but well, these are things that happen in these new events.”

Nakashima closed the third quarter 16-15 and the fourth 12-11, both decided by a single point. “I’m not sure how I came back in that third quarter,” Nakashima said. “It was incredible. I’m not sure how I did it really, but I was happy with it.”

“It was a crazy match. The level was high. First experience for me, put right into it, and it was super fun. I really enjoyed it.”

I missed some easy shots at the end of the last quarter and in the third quarter also, but tennis like this.

Cerúndolo, the tournament’s top seed, said the margins summed up the format. “I think the quarters were super close, super, super tight,” he said. “I missed some easy shots at the end of the last quarter and in the third quarter also, but tennis like this – this format is like this, it’s details, small details, and that’s why I lost today and he won.”

Nakashima credited the format’s momentum swings for his recovery. “The momentum shifts pretty quickly,” he said. “Even when you’re up or down, after a few points you can get into a good rhythm and get some good points in a row. So yeah, super happy with it.”

Cerúndolo’s evening carried an added distraction. Argentina reached the World Cup final for a second consecutive tournament on Wednesday, and Cerúndolo has booked a flight to New York to watch Sunday’s game in the stadium. Asked whether football had been on his mind during the match, he said: “Maybe a little bit, you know. But yesterday was a great day for all the Argentinians – making another World Cup final, it’s amazing, two in a row. I was really happy, really excited yesterday, and I booked the flight for Saturday night so I’m going to New York, and on Sunday I’ll be watching Argentina live there in the stadium.”

Nakashima’s win moves him on to face home favourite Guto Miguel on Friday. “He’s a very talented young player, definitely comes with a lot of energy, especially with the Brazilian crowd and everything,” Nakashima said. “It’s gonna be exciting. I’m looking forward to it.”

Nakashima’s reward for Thursday’s comeback is a teenager who spent the same night making Nick Kyrgios sweat in front of the same crowd.