On another day for the marathon men to show off their steeliness in steamy Paris, Argentine Cerundolo, who thrived as the icy world No.1 Sinner melted in the heat two days earlier, outdid himself by chalking up another monumental five-set victory in two minutes under six hours.
In the longest French Open match for six years -- effectively two-and-a-half hours longer than it took him to down Sinner -- the world No.56 beat young Spanish star Martin Landaluce 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 [10-8].
The good news for the presumably exhausted Cerundolo was that his last-16 opponent will be feeling just as weary, after Italian Matteo Berrettini required five hours 13 minutes to defeat another seemingly indestructible Argentine Francisco Comesana 7-6 (7-3) 5-7 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (15-13).
Berrettini was hugely emotional after his triumph, following long spells of injury setbacks since he reached the Wimbledon final back in 2021.
Asked why, he said: "So many things, but maybe the best one was the fact that I've doubted myself a little bit too much in the last months and years, even though I had unbelievable support from my family, from my friends, from my team.
"And everybody kept telling me that I still had it in me. Sometimes I just have to confess that I thought I couldn't come back, I couldn't feel good on court again.
"And that's why I was emotional was because I proved to myself one more time that I can do this, I can do it well, I can fight, I can enjoy my time on court."
There was huge anti-climax for the home challenge, with France's new young tennis hero, the 17-year-old Moise Kouame, finally bowing out after his wholly unexpected run with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (11-9) defeat to Canadian-Chilean Alejandro Tabilo.
The youngster had asked for his match to be moved to an earlier time so he could watch his beloved Paris St Germain in the Champions League final but, alas, the match had already kicked off. He was, though, thrilled to be able to watch them win the penalty shootout later.
Cerundolo's elder and more highly ranked brother, world No.26 Francisco Cerundolo, didn't do as well as his sibling, losing 6-3 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 to American Zachary Svajda, the conqueror of two Australians, Alexei Popyrin and Adam Walton.
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