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Burruchaga Kicking Goals On Challenger Tour

The 20-year-old is the second-youngest Argentine in the Top 300
November 04, 2022
Roman Andres Burruchaga in action at the 2022 Guayaquil Challenger.
Jose Alvarado
Roman Andres Burruchaga in action at the 2022 Guayaquil Challenger. By Grant Thompson

#NextGenATP youngster Roman Andres Burruchaga comes from a family that holds a piece of Argentine sports history.

Burruchaga’s father, Jorge, scored the game-winning goal in the 1986 World Cup Final, sealing an Argentina 3-2 victory over West Germany. 36 years later, fans still awe over the memorable moment.

“In Argentina, he’s a very famous person,” Roman said of his father. “They love him a lot because of that goal, I think the most important goal in the history of Argentina.”

After retiring from professional football, Jorge spent time as a coach and served as general manager of Argentina’s national team during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

ATP Challenger Tour 

Now it’s the 20-year-old Roman’s turn to have a pro career of his own, except in tennis. Since claiming two ITF Futures titles in 2021, Burruchaga is making a sudden impact on the ATP Challenger Tour.

This past week, the Buenos Aires native reached the semi-finals at the Lima Challenger, where he eventually fell short to countryman Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Four days later, Burruchaga avenged the loss to Etcheverry, defeating the second seed 6-7(3), 7-5, 7-5, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Burruchaga needed three hours, 36 minutes to earn the highest-ranked win of his career (No. 83).

Burruchaga hopes to build upon his six Challenger quarter-final appearances, including two semi-final runs (Corrientes and Lima), to lift a trophy of his own and add to Argentina’s rich tennis history.

“We [Argentina] have a lot of Challenger Tour players that are so good,” Burruchaga said. “We have to keep going. We have a lot of past history in Argentina and I think in the future we are going to have more great players.”

Roman<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/andres/a132/overview'> Andres</a> Burruchaga at the 2022 <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/lima/2787/2023/results'>Lima Challenger</a>, where he reached the semi-finals.
Roman Andres Burruchaga at the 2022 Lima Challenger, where he reached the semi-finals. Credit: @igmachallengers

Growing up, the #NextGenATP youngster was involved in multiple sports. Burruchaga, who still enjoys using his athleticism to play padel, felt no family pressure to choose the sport his dad made a living from.

“When I was younger I started to play table tennis in my home and that was easy for me,” Burruchaga said. “So I started playing tennis… I used to play football, but my father said to me that I should choose what I want. I prefer tennis, and he likes tennis too.”

At a career-high No. 281 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Burruchaga is one of 27 Argentines, and the second-youngest (Juan Bautista Torres), in the Top 300 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Burruchaga’s skillset helped lead to his first Challenger doubles title (w/ Facundo Diaz Acosta) at the Seville Challenger (September).

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“I think I’m solid from both sides [groundstrokes],” Burruchaga said. “I like to dictate with my forehand and I like to close points at the net.”

Many Argentines remember the name, ‘Jorge Burruchaga’, and Roman will aim to follow in his father’s footsteps as a sporting icon in their home country.

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