2026 Argentina Open: Berrettini pushes past fan-favorite Coria

Day two of the 2026 Argentina Open saw five Argentines and a slew of international stars take the court. Among them was Italian Matteo Berrettini (ATP singles ranked 58), arguably the biggest star to feature so far in the tournament.  The 2021 Wimbledon finalist got off to a winning start in the night shift, despite having to fight tooth and nail to beat wild card Federico Coria (322) by 7-5, 7-5. Brother to former world No. 3 Guillermo, Coria has developed a cult following after becoming a successful streamer and vlogger focused on showing the sport’s behind-the-scenes. This was Coria’s first game in five months after undergoing surgery for a serious elbow injury in August 2025. The match proved a hard-fought affair. Berrettini himself was struggling with fitness, having missed the Australian Open due to an undisclosed injury. His inconsistent shot-making made for a clash of styles with Coria’s never-say-never defense, forcing the Italian to go all the way to the last game in order to wrap the first set. It was more of the same in the second. Despite Berrettini taking an advantage early in the second, Coria mounted a late-match comeback, riding the support of the fans. Worsening cramps began to hinder the Argentine’s chances, and the Italian was able to wrap up the match once again in the last game. “It was an incredible atmosphere,” Berrettini told the press after the game. “When the draw came out and I saw that I was playing against Fede Coria, I could already imagine the whole atmosphere. And that’s how it was, with people singing and cheering. I really enjoyed that.” He’ll now go up against Czech Vit Kopriva on Wednesday. Camilo Ugo Carabelli (47) and Francisco Comesaña (63) were in charge of closing the curtain on day two. Carabelli, who had retained his title at the Rosario Challenger just 48 hours prior, shrugged off fatigue and prevailed in a two-hour battle by 6-4, 7-6 (3). “I’ve slept a lot since leaving Rosario,” he said of his rest for the Argentina Open. “I stayed in bed with the air conditioning on, did basically nothing, and ate lots of alfajores.” He’ll face off against the winner of the duel between Argentine Mariano Navone and the U.S.’s Emilio Nava. One Argentine through, one out on the day shift Juan Manuel Cerúndolo (80) took on Germany’s Daniel Altmaier (51) on a red-hot day shift at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club. The Argentine, brother of world No. 19 Francisco, was looking to build on a solid result at the Rosario Challenge, where he reached the semifinals. Looking incredibly solid out of the gates, he pushed and nullified his rival to take control of the match early in both sets. Cerúndolo secured a 6-2, 6-2 win to make the second round, where he’ll face off against Spain’s Pedro Martínez. “I’ve only played him once, in the qualifiers for the 2020 tournament. It was a long time ago, right before the pandemic,” Cerúndolo said in the press conference. “We might’ve trained together once or twice, but nothing else. So it’ll be a new thing, for sure.” Facundo Diaz Acosta (285) wasn’t as lucky. The 2024 champion has been struggling with form since suffering a shoulder injury in May 2024 and a foot problem in March of last year.  Far from his best physically, he fought hard but fell 7-6 (5), 6-3 to Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (71), who will face off against another former champion, Joao Fonseca. Comebacks and withdrawals On Court 2, Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild (197) was unable to close out his duel against Chile’s Tomas Barrios Vera (114) despite having three match points and had to retire with injury when the match was 6-4, 5-6.  The Chilean is set to face Argentine-born Italian Luciano Darderi. After that, Román Burruchaga (104) beat Serbia’s Laslo Djere (91) by 6-2, 6-4, and will face Tomás Etcheverry in the second round.  Peru’s Ignacio Buse (96) brought the action on Court 2 with a win for history. He came back from 7-5, 5-1 down after facing two match points to take the win 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 against Italian Francesco Passaro (159). He’ll now go up against Argentine Sebastián Báez.