Gabriela Sabatini lauds Francisco Cerundolo for his Miami Open win over Felix Auger-Aliassime

Argentinian tennis legend Gabriela Sabatini lauded compatriot Francisco Cerundolo for his splendid third-round win at the ongoing Miami Open.

Cerundolo, seeded 25th, got the better of fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 7-5 in a pulsating clash on Monday. The Argentinian avenged his earlier defeats to Auger-Aliassime at the Australian Open and Indian Wells as he hit 12 winners to his opponent’s seven and profited from 19 unforced errors by Auger-Aliassime.

Sabatini took to social media to congratulate Cerundolo. The former World No. 3 posted a photo of her countryman and captioned it "Let's go."

"Vamos, @francerundolo," she captioned her Instagram story.

Gabriela Sabatini Instagram story.

The pair have clashed three times in the past, with Cerundolo registering his first win over the Canadian on Monday. The win takes Francisco Cerundolo's record in Miami to 8-1 and he will now look to match last year's result, where he reached the semifinals.

Cerundolo, ranked 31 in the world, will be up against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego in the Round of 16.

Francisco Cerundolo says Novak Djokovic "best player" on tour

Francisco Cerundolo at the ongoing Miami Open 2023.

Francisco Cerundolo was in awe of Novak Djokovic and said that the 22-time Grand Slam champion is the "best player" currently on tour.

In a recent interview with News Rebeat, Cerundolo said that other players need to step up their game to have any chance of getting the better of the Serbian.

"The best tennis player, the number 1 and the champion of the last Grand Slam. He’s impressive because, with everything he’s already won, he still wants to play and win. I respect that a lot. And I think it’s good for tennis that it continues at that level, that it continues to demand from us. If we want to beat him, we have to keep working to improve," Cerundolo said.

The Argentinian added that it was good to see a recent wave of change in men's tennis, highlighting the rise of occasional champions like Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

"The new generation broke into the top positions of the rating -analysed. In the big tournaments a lot of finalists start appearing, occasional champions like Carlos or Daniil Medvedev. The era of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic is coming to an end, even if Djokovic still has a few years ahead," he said.