Cordoba

Generally, there are two ways that the narrative of an ATP Tour event, especially one at 250 level, will unfold. Either there will be one frontrunner who has a linear progression through the draw and looks a very good bet for the title from the early stages, or there will be a few players who have made it to the business end of the tournament playing patches of excellent tennis interspersed with some more average form. This contrast was perfectly exemplified by the two editions of the Cordoba Open; Juan Ignacio Londero storming his way to victory in the 2019 inaugural edition, before Cristian Garin thrice recovered from a set down to clinch this week’s crown at the expense of local favourite Diego Schwartzman.

The Cordoba Open marks the start of the four-week Golden Swing; a series of clay-court tournaments played across Latin America. After a few teething problems (such as a questionable playing surface and meagre crowd numbers) last year, this week seems to have vindicated the decision to move the opening event here from the altitude of Quito in 2019. First and foremost, the quality of tennis on display was fairly impressive, especially considering the large majority of the competitors hadn’t yet struck a ball in anger on clay this season. All but two of the quarter-finalists were made up by the top eight-ranked players, with southpaws Fernando Verdasco and Guido Pella the only seeded casualties. Verdasco, a player looking increasingly devoid of both motivation and physical longevity, was dumped out by world number 178 Carlos Taberner in the first round, while Pella, finalist twelve months ago, was also short of his best – outlasted in a two and a half battle by the entertaining young Frenchman Corentin Moutet.

While there were multiple intricate three-set battles, the clear match of the tournament was the night-match quarter-final between Laslo Djere and defending champion Juan Ignacio Londero. Aptly named Estadio Mario Kempas after the legendary Argentinian forward, the arena had the feel of a baying football crowd as the match wore on; every point for Londero instigating raucous cheers from the local faithful; each Djere missed first serve instead bringing hisses and whistles. Whilst there could be concerns over the extent to which a player can be affected and the spirit of the game is violated in the face of such crowd opposition, it never became unpleasant or nasty and added a dramatic edge to an already great match. Both players possessed weapons making them capable of consistently dominating points – Londero with his aggressive and penetrative groundstrokes, and Djere’s accurate first serve which allowed him to control the points with his forehand. However it felt like the match was always being played on the Argentine’s terms: he elevated his level to nick the first set in a tiebreak, before falling off a cliff to gift Djere a 4-0 advantage at the start of the second. Anyone who has watched Londero in the last year knows that he’s a passionate competitor on court, and while this was displayed primarily in ranting tirades towards his box for the first half of the set, he channelled his energy positively in nearly recovering both breaks. Djere fought through, bringing the match to parity, and about 45 minutes later the match was approaching what it deserved in a final set tiebreak. Credit must go to the Serb, not only for his superior execution (backhand line was his key shot at this stage) but also his mental strength in showing the same collected calmness that was evident in his breakout triumph in Rio nearly 12 months ago. It was an impressive match, and an even more impressive victory given the circumstances.

In fact, the disappointment of the home crowd was to become a theme that repeated itself on Sunday evening. Upon entering the final, both Diego Schwartzman and Cristian Garin’s matches had taken on a distinct pattern that was polar opposite to each other. As shown by first set scorelines of 6-1, 6-0, and 6-1 in his first three matches, Schwartzman had been making lightning fast starts, playing at a level more than worthy of his number 1 status in the draw, before seeing a slight dip in his level (this was more stark in his semi-final against Djere, where the 6-1 first set scoreline was reversed in the second). By contrast, Garin had dropped the first set badly in both his quarter-final and semi-final clashes and often cut a lethargic and flat character out on court. Naturally, this state of affairs repeated themselves in the final; Schwartzman, basking in the love of a Davis-Cup style crowd, dominated the opener 6-2 with his deceptively sharp and powerful groundstrokes. The second was consistently played on a knife-edge and both players had their chances. Schwartzman looked to have stolen the momentum back when he broke Garin at 5-3 when the Chilean was serving for it, but Garin played a blinding game to steal the set from under the diminutive Argentine’s nose, which was to be an unfortunate omen for him for the rest of the match. The last ATP Tour final to have a 6-0 deciding set was nearly four years ago, but Schwartzman was clearly very rattled by the way he lost the second set and never really recovered. Take nothing away from Garin – by the end of the match he was creaming forehands and backhands in a manner unforeseen for the whole tournament, and it was fitting that the match was sealed with a forehand return winner. It marked his first title in South America, and considering he is only 23 years of age, it is likely that it won’t be his last.