Juan Ignacio Londero started his year with a loss in the second round of qualifying at the Australian Open. He then reached the quarterfinals at the Punta del Este Challenger. Those would be the last Slam qualifying and Challenger appearances of the year for Londero.
At the Cordoba Open, Londero won his maiden ATP main tour title, winning in three sets over Guido Pella to win the championship. For a player who had been playing mainly Challengers before this, the trophy in Cordoba was a major breakthrough. Londero was able to control effectively use his powerful, heavy forehand and make his backhand consistent enough to compete well above the Challenger level.
Juan Ignacio Londero in 2019
The hard court events in Indian Wells and Miami didn’t go well, with first round qualifying losses in both. And while Londero was not a disaster on clay following Cordoba, he did not win more than a single main draw match in a tournament until the French Open.
At the French Open, Londero reached the round of 16, including a five-set win in a raucous environment over Frenchman Corentin Moutet. A rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”loss to Rafael Nadal in the round of 16 didn’t spoil what was a great tournament for Londero.
Londero’s game doesn’t suit grass very well, so no big results on grass isn’t surprising. The Argentinian got his next big result following Wimbledon, on the clay in Bastad. Londero reached the final there, beating Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals. While Londero lost to Nicolas Jarry in the final, it was a great tournament for Londero.
For the rest of the season, however, Londero struggled. He didn’t win more than two main draw matches in a row from Bastad onwards. The Argentinian ended the season on a six-match main draw losing streak. Londero very clearly petered out towards the end of the season. If he’s to continue to not play Challengers in 2020, he will need to refresh himself during the offseason and not let this rut spill into next season.
However, on the whole, with a main tour breakthrough and an ATP main tour title, Londero should be happy with his 2019 season. Fans of Argentinian tennis should be looking forward to his 2020 prospects.
Main Photo from Getty.
