Sebastian Baez Outlasts Alejandro Tabilo to Claim Chile Open Title

Posted on March 3, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Sebastian Baez is rockin’ & rollin’ through South America…

The 23-year-old Argentine tennis player completed his South American clay-court swing on a high note on Sunday in Santiago, rallying past home favorite Alejandro Tabilo 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 in the final of the Chile Open to secure his second title in as many weeks.

Last week Baez triumphed at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro.

Baez has won nine consecutive matches and will climb to a career-high No. 19 in the ATP Rankings on Monday.

He found his best tennis when it mattered most on Court Jaime Fillol, earning 12 of the championship clash’s final 16 games to emerge victorious after two hours and 14 minutes.

Baez’s winning streak appeared in jeopardy when this year’s Auckland champion Tabilo made a quick start in front of a partisan crowd. Chants of “Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le! Viva Chile!” filled the air as day turned to night and the lefty moved to within a set of earning his second ATP Tour crown.

Tabilo also was able to draw confidence from the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting last year in Cordoba, which he won in straight sets. But one of the key differences in this encounter was how Baez performed under pressure.

When the pair met in Cordoba, Baez saved just one of the six break points he faced. In Santiago, he saved eight of 10 break points while converting five of his 16 opportunities according to Infosys ATP Stats.

After an uncharacteristically out-of-rhythm start from Baez, he locked in from the back of the court for the final two sets. Many rallies were grinding duels from behind the baseline and in those situations, Tabilo was unable to consistently find ways to put his opponent under duress.

Tabilo found his moments and hit some jaw-dropping shots, including a stunning backhand down the line to help him break back when Baez served for the match at 5-3 in the deciding set.

But the second seed was able to successfully ride those waves of momentum and rely on his heavy forehand to control the action. Despite losing serve on the verge of victory, he broke in the next game, hitting a final forehand winner to capture his fifth title since the start of the 2023 season.

Baez is now fifth in the ATP Live Race To Turin and is 16-5 in 2024. He’s trying to qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time.

With the win, he became the first player to win multiple titles during the South American clay-court swing since Cristian Garin in 2020.

Sebastian Baez Defeats Compatriot Mariano Navone to Claim Rio Open Title

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Sebastian Baez has claimed the fifth and biggest title of his career…

On Sunday, the 23-year-old Argentine professional tennis player defeated compatriot Mariano Navone 6-2, 6-1 at the Rio Open.

The fifth-seeded Baez wasn’t seriously challenged by the 22-year-old Navone, a qualifier, in the final of the clay-court tournament.

Neither of the two Argentinians had been among the favorites to lift the title, but defending champion Cameron Norrie, Carlos Alcaraz, Stan Wawrinka and Nicolás Jarry had all stumbled.

Baez is the second Argentinian to lift the trophy, with Diego Schwartzman the first in 2018.

Baez is set to climb to a career-high No. 21 in the rankings on Monday, from his current No. 30.

Navone will become a top 100 player for the first time, reaching No. 60 after Rio.

Mariano Navone Defeats Cameron Norrie in Stunning Upset at Rio Open to Reach First-Ever ATP 500 Final

Posted on February 24, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

,” the 30th-ranked Báez said. “We are using this [tournament] to climb up, we are young. I like to play in Rio, come to Brazil. When I don’t play against a Brazilian I feel like a local.”

By beating his first Top 50 opponent, Navone became the first qualifier to reach an ATP 500 final since Jiri Vesely accomplished the feat in Dubai in 2022.

“It was incredible,” he said post-match. “It’s a pleasure to play here in Rio, my first ATP 500. I’m very happy to make the final, my first final. I played so good all week and I hope [to win] the title tomorrow.”

Sebastian Baez Defeats Francisco Cerundolo at Rio Open to Reach His First ATP 500 Final

Posted on February 24, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Sebastian Baez has reached the biggest ATP Tour final of his career…

The 23-year-old Argentine professional tennis player faced three set points at 4-5 in the opening set on Saturday at the Rio Open. He saved each one under pressure from compatriot Francisco Cerundolo and didn’t lose another game en route to a 7-5, 6-0 victory at the ATP 500.

Baez’s nine-game tear earned him the win in his first semifinal above ATP 250 level. He will now play for his fifth and biggest tour-level title on Sunday.

While Baez twice beat Cerundolo on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2021, Saturday’s win was his first in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series, which is now level at 1-1.

“We know each other too much, I think more than I want,” Baez joked after the win. “All matches are different. Today it’s going to my side. In the first set, I gave many break points to him. I had to take it because it’s so hard for both.”

After an early trade of breaks, Baez saved six consecutive break points in the one-hour, 24-minute match. He converted on four of his seven break chances and won more than half of his return points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“It’s hard but I always try to be focused on the next point, on the next game, every time thinking about my game and what I have to do,” Baez said of his surge through the finish line.

Cerundolo, who was also bidding to reach his first final above the ATP 250 level, struggled with 39 unforced errors, including 26 off his backhand wing. Despite the loss, he will return to the Top 20 in the ATP Rankings on Monday.

Baez is up seven places to No. 23 this week in the ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up for a career high. He could move up to No. 21 with the Rio title.

Sebastian Baez Upsets Borna Coric (Again!) to Reach Second Round of US Open

Posted on August 29, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Sebastian Baez has notched a second consecutive win against Borna Coric.

The 22-year-old Argentine professional tennis player defeated Coric, the No 27 seed, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1 on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

Just days ago, Baez and Coric played an epic three-set match in the semifinals of the Winston-Salem Open, with the Argentinian claiming the match in three hours, 19 minutes by way of third set tiebreak.

Baez went on to win the title, his second in a row.

Now, meeting for the second time in three days, Baez has yet again upset his higher ranked opponent, this time going about his business seamlessly to keep his 11-match win-streak alive.

After two tight sets, which again saw Baez go up breaks and fail to hold on to his leads, the world No 32 ran away with the third set, 6-1.

Baez will play Brazilian qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves next.

Sebastian Baez Defeats Jiri Lehecka to Claim Winston-Salem Open Title

Posted on August 27, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Sebastian Baez’s winning streak continues…

The 22-year-old Argentine tennis player produced a squeaky clean performance Saturday to win the Winston-Salem Open and extend his winning streak to 10 matches after also claiming the ATP 250 event in Kitzbühel three weeks ago.

Baez, the tournament’s sixth seed, needed just one hour, 34 minutes to defeat fifth seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-3 and capture his first tour-level title on hard courts and third trophy of the season.

He’s now the first Argentine to win three titles in a season since Juan Martin del Potro (4) in 2013.

Despite a marathon three-hour, 19-minute semifinal against Borna Coric on Friday night, Baez showed no signs of fatigue as he stayed patient in baseline rallies and struck the ball cleanly. Lehecka, who was competing in his first tour-level final, advanced to the title match after receiving a walkover from third seed Sebastian Korda, who suffered an ankle injury in the quarterfinals.

A pivotal moment came when Baez saved four break points when serving at 5-4 to close a 54-minute opening set. Baez stayed focussed despite trailing by a break early in both sets and won four consecutive games from 0-2 in the second.

“[My coach told me] to keep going, try and stay focused on good things,” Baez said. “It was just a bad start, but happy with the result and all of this week.”

Lehecka tried to move forward in the latter stages of the match to apply pressure on the World No. 42, but lacked the consistency needed to down a watertight Baez, who thrilled the crowd with several passing shots to improve to 2-0 in his ATPHead2Head series with the Czech.

Following his triumph, Baez will move to No. 32 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, just two spots shy of tying his career-high. He’ll next aim to maintain his form at the US Open, where he opens against 25th seed Coric.

“It’s nice to have that confidence, but now I have to think about my recovery after this week, and then after I will think about the US Open,” Baez said. “I have a few days to recover and to focus again on a new tournament.”

Sebastian Baez Defeats Dominic Thiem to Win Generali Open Title

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Sebastian Baez has taken down the hometown favorite…

The 22-year-old Argentine professional tennis player crashed the crashed the Generali Open party of home favorite Dominic Thiem in style on Saturday, when the he delivered a stunning championship-match performance to triumph at the ATP 250.

Baez produced a near-flawless display of heavy hitting through the Kitzbühel clay to prevail 6-3, 6-1 against 2019 champion Thiem and lift his second tour-level title of the year.

Baez opened up an ultimately unassailable 4-1 lead en route to the opening set, and put together another streak of four straight games in the second to complete his 80-minute win.

“I know all the people wanted Domi to win because he is from here, sorry” said Baez to the crowd in his on-court interview. “I’m happy not just for today, but the whole week. All the people, the crowd, made me feel so comfortable here this week. I know this weather is not the best, but this place is amazing, and I enjoyed every day. I’m happy to take the match.

“Congrats to Domi and his team. It was a great week [for them], so I hope he comes back to his best level.”

Although Thiem appeared fatigued after pulling through three consecutive three-set wins during his fairytale run to the final, Baez was clinical in nullifying the vocal home support in the Austrian Alps. Rain delayed the start of the match by approximately 90 minutes, but when play did begin the Argentine excelled in the heavy conditions and converted four of six break points he earned to improve his ATP Head2Head lead against Thiem to 2-0.

All three of Baez’s ATP Tour titles have come at clay-court ATP 250s, after he previously triumphed in Estoril in 2022 and at home in Cordoba in February this year.

He had won one match in his previous five tournaments before arriving in Kitzbühel, but he dropped just one set — against top seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the semifinals — en route to the trophy. With his title run, the Argentine has risen 25 spots to No. 47 in the ATP Live Rankings.

“I just want to enjoy this moment. It was an amazing week,” said Baez. “I will try to enjoy it with [my team]. We know the past few weeks were not the best results, so we will try to enjoy this moment.”

Despite his final disappointment, Thiem is set to return to the Top 100 on Monday as a result of his Kitzbühel run. The 29-year-old is currently up 27 spots to No. 89 in the ATP Live Rankings.

Tomás Barrios Vera Earns First Grand Slam Victory After Outlasting Sebastian Baez at Wimbledon

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Tomás Barrios Vera has logged his first Grand Slam match at Wimbledon after qualifying into the main draw.

The 25-year-old Chilean qualifier’s major match victory came when he edged out Sebastian Baez 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) at the All England Club to reach the second round.

Barrios Vera, ranked No. 133 in the world, will face Belgian wildcard David Goffin next.

In the qualifying rounds, Barrios Vera defeated Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 6-4; Rinky Hijikata 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2); and Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-7 (3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Francisco Cerundolo Wins First-Ever ATP Tour Title at Nordea Open

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Francisco Cerundolo is officially an ATP Tour titlist…

The 23-year-old Argentine professional tennis player defeated compatriot Sebastian Baez in straight sets 7-6 (4), 6-2, to clinch his maiden title at the Nordea Open on Sunday.

Cerundolo, playing in just his second ATP Tour singles final, dropped serve in the opening game of the first set, but the 23-year-old recovered well as he won his fourth straight sets victory over the tournament.

“It feels amazing,” Cerundolo said. “First of all, I want to congratulate Sebastian, not just for this week. You’ve been playing amazing since last year.

“[Winning the title] means a lot. Since you are a child you imagine yourself playing in these events and finals. When I lost in Buenos Aires I was sad, because I was at home and I lost badly, but I learned a lot from that. I used it today, and I think I played a great match, a great week.”

Sebastian Baez Claims First ATP Tour Career Title at Estoril Open

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a special first for Sebastian Baez.

The 21-year-old Argentine tennis player enjoyed a straight-set victory over American Frances Tiafoe to win the Estoril Open on Sunday.

Baez won 6-3, 6-2 in 1 1/4 hours on the outdoor clay court for his first ATP Tour career title.

Tiafoe was playing in his fourth career final, and his second in Estoril. He lost the 2018 final to João Sousa in straight sets. He won his only title at Delray Beach in 2018.

Báez converted four of five break chances and hit four aces to beat the 24-year-old Tiafoe, who struggled with his serve.

Tiafoe had reached the final after beating countryman Sebastian Korda 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 after saving three match points on Saturday.

Báez has now reached a career high ATP singles ranking of No. 40 in the world, as of May 2, 2022.

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