ATP Tour

Tabilo spoils Fonseca's Buenos Aires return, wins dramatic second-round clash

Alejandro Tabilo claimed a thrilling win at the IEB+ Argentina Open Wednesday, beating the defending champion Joao Fonseca 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the second round and extending the Brazilian’s challenging start to the 2026 season.

Despite letting slip a break lead at 3-1 in the third set, Tabilo ultimately capitalised on Fonseca’s 33 unforced errors to seal the victory on his third match point in a two-hour, 24-minute battle.

"I was very connected with the team. They helped me through it all," Tabilo said. "A lot of nerves at the end, but I feel like we played a very good game, very smart tactics and just outlasted him. I knew he was going to come out swinging and I just had to be very solid."

Tabilo won 77 per cent (40/52) of his first-serve points and saved 57 per cent (4/7) of the break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. With the triumph over No. 33 in the PIF ATP Rankings Fonseca, Tabilo earned his first Top-50 win on clay since upsetting No. 5 Novak Djokovic in the second round at the ATP 1000 event Monte-Carlo last April. He will face seventh seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarter-finals.

Fonseca, who withdrew from Brisbane and Adelaide due to a lower back injury and lost in the opening round at the Australian Open, was unable to hold out against the Chilean’s ball-striking. He claimed his first tour-level title a year ago in Buenos Aires. The 19-year-old former Next Gen ATP Finals champion will hope to regain form when he competes next week at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro, his hometown.

Top seed Francisco Cerundolo won a tale of two sets against Hugo Dellien, earning a 6-0, 7-6(6) victory on home soil. The 27-year-old saved eight set points in the second set, including a comeback from 3/6 in the tie-break, to avoid a decider. Cerundolo previously saved three set points when serving at 4-5 and two more at 5-6.

Cerundolo is into his sixth Buenos Aires quarter-final in the past seven editions. He will next meet Vit Kopriva, who defeated eighth seed Matteo Berrettini’s 6-4, 6-3. Berrettini was competing in his first tournament of the season after withdrawing from the Australian Open due to an abdominal injury. By defeating Berrettini, Kopriva became the first Czech quarter-finalist in the tournament’s history

Etcheverry booked his quarter-final spot by rallying past fellow Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4. The Argentine saved a set point in the opening set. With the win, the 26-year-old recorded his 50th tour-level clay-court victory. Mariano Navone defeated Emilio Nava 6-2, 6-1 to book his second-round spot.