Cerúndolo se quedó a un saque de la final de Bruselas

Cerúndolo leaned forward, took the ball early and won the point. No one needed a scoreboard to understand what happened next: the Argentine jumped 4-1, held serve and closed the first set 6-2. That was the clearest, most solid tennis he showed in Brussels.

The match, however, took a different turn. Griekspoor found the key break in a tight second set and won it 6-3. The final stretch became a test of nerves, and the Argentine failed it in the cruelest way.

A missed opportunity with a ticket to the final

Cerúndolo broke in the eighth game of the third set and reached 5-3. He then served for the match. The next points were not just about the score: they were about the final, about the tournament that had been going well, about the chance to reach a final at 21 years old.

Griekspoor did not panic. He broke back, tied the set and took the definition to the tie-break. There, the Dutch player won 7-4 and advanced to Sunday's final.

“I had to play my best tennis. I am very proud of what I was able to do today. This is a mental victory. Francisco is a great player, it is always very difficult to face him and you have to be in optimal emotional and mental condition.”Tallon Griekspoor

That final point tells the story. The mental component was decisive. Cerúndolo had the match in his hands, but Brussels ended with a painful goodbye. Not because the tournament was poor, but because the semifinal offered a very different ending.

• Cerúndolo won the first set 6-2 with two early breaks.
• Griekspoor took the second set 6-3.
• The Argentine broke for 5-3 and served for the match in the third.
• The Dutch player forced the tie-break and won it 7-4.
• Griekspoor will face the winner of the match between Arthur Fils and Jan-Lennard Struff in the final, scheduled for 12.30 on Sunday, Argentine time.

The question now is what this defeat leaves behind. Losing a semifinal after serving for the match hurts, but it also shows that the player was close to a breakthrough. The next tournament will be a good place to find out whether that frustration becomes fuel or if it takes longer to digest.

Before moving on, the rest of the Argentine contingent also had mixed results. Juan Manuel Cerúndolo beat Zachary Svajda 6-4, 6-3 in the Basel qualifying and will face Daniel Altmaier. Sebastián Báez fell to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the same stage, while Thiago Tirante faced Adrian Mannarino in Vienna qualifying.