Francisco Cerundolo has pulled off an upset…

The 24-year-old Argentine professional tennis player defeated third-seed Casper Ruud 7-6 (5), 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals at the Barcelona Open.

The 15th-seeded Argentine improved to 4-6 lifetime against Top 10 opponents to reach his fourth quarterfinal of 2023 and his first overall at the ATP 500.

Cerundolo claimed a 2-1 advantage in his ATP Head2Head with Ruud, denying the Norwegian a second straight trip to the Barcelona quarters.

In a dramatic opening set, Cerundolo battled back from 2-5, saving two set points to break Ruud in his second attempt to serve out the set at 5-4. The Argentine hung on after building a 4/0 lead in the tiebreak, then moved decisively ahead with an early break in the second set.

He did not face a break point in set two, dictating with his big forehand throughout and capitalizing on some uncertainty from Ruud, who has suffered second-round defeats in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona after his Estoril title run.

Cerundolo will meet 12th seed Daniel Evans in Friday’s quarterfinals after the Briton’s 6-3, 6-4 win against Karen Khachanov.