Thankfully, both brothers won their respective matches, with Juan Manuel narrowly edging past Burruchaga 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-5 and Francisco dispatched Darderi 6-4, 6-4—the latter’s first tour-level match since the Australian Open.
While they will be meeting for the first time in an ATP Tour-level match, Wednesday’s clash is far from the first time these brothers’ paths have crossed in tennis.
The younger Juan Manuel, a talented junior, made his breakthrough first by winning his maiden ATP Tour title as a 19-year-old on home soil in Cordoba in 2021. A week later, it was Francisco’s turn to make a splash as he reached his first ATP final in Buenos Aires. The elder’s progress has been a bit more slow and steady, and Francisco is now Argentina’s top-ranked player with three ATP titles to his name.