FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO ENTERS ELITE CLUB AFTER LATEST VICTORY, FEATURING 3 WORLD NO 1S

Francisco Cerundolo defeated Alex de Minuar 7-5, 6-3 in the fourth-round of Indian Wells, collecting his thirteenth victory over a top 10 player.

“I am super happy, I knew it was going to be a battle today,” stated the victor.

“Alex (de Minaur) is an amazing player, a fighter. He is having some great years, a top-10 player and we had a battle in Australia and it went his side but today I had another match, another opportunity and I think I did really well.

“I am super happy to beat a high-quality player and be in the quarter-finals in Indian Wells.”

The Argentine now possesses a 13-13 record against players ranked inside the world’s top 10, joining Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz as the only active players to have a 50%+ win record against such players (minimum 25 matches).

Cerundolo previously gained another top-10 victory in 2025 at the Argentina Open, when he defeated Alexander Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-final.

Djokovic’s record is – as expected – stunning, with 260 victories and 117 losses to such players, a 69%-win rate. This percentage is the second-highest of all-time (minimum 100 matches played), with Bjorn Borg leading the historical pack with 71.1%. The Serb notched his first win at the 2005 Paris Masters against Mariano Puerta.

Meanwhile, world No 1 Sinner possesses a 42-32 record against top 10 players, winning all of his last 10 matches against such players. This puts the Italian’s win rate at 56.8%, with his first victory coming against David Goffin in the 2020 edition of Rotterdam.

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Lastly, Alcaraz has 36 victories against top 10 players, with 21 losses – putting him above Sinner with 63.2%. The Spaniard lost his first three opportunities to beat players ranked inside the elite group, but collected his maiden win sensationally, with a five-set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2021 US Open.

Francisco Cerundolo is due to face world No 3 Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, with the Spaniard having won 30 of his last 32 sets played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, lifting the title in the two most recent editions.

The two have only played once at tour-level, with Alcaraz coming out on top 6-1, 7-5 in Queen’s in 2024.

2025-03-13T14:42:29Z