Sebastián Báez Emerges Victorious in Rio Open ATP 500 Tournament

Argentine tennis player Sebastián Báez returns a ball against his compatriot Mariano Navone during the final of the Rio Open ATP 500 tournament (Rio de Janeiro Tournament), this Sunday, in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). EFE/ André Coelho

Sebastián Báez demonstrated his great presence by playing in the final of the Chile Open, after winning the ATP in Rio de Janeiro last week. The duel against local Alejandro Tabilo meant a kind of revenge for what were the semifinals of the tournament that takes place on the central court of San Carlos de Apoquindo in the southern capital.

To reach the decisive match, the Argentine defeated the Spanish Pedro Martínez (101st) 6-4 and 6-2 and became the main favorite to win the crown as he was the second seed in the competition, although it is complex in front of him. Chilean rival that occupies 51st place in the international ranking. Seba, number 21 in the ATP ranking, displaced the owner of the house Nicolás Jarry (22nd), champion of the previous edition, who fell on Friday against the Frenchman Corentin Moutet, a rival much lower in the world ranking (140th) and who said goodbye before Tabilo.

The Chilean, who will climb the ATP ranking with the results already obtained, has an arduous task against Báez, who on the South American tour has reached the semifinals at the ATP in Buenos Aires and Córdoba. The Buenos Aires native began his journey at the Santiago ATP in the round of 16, where he beat the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas in three sets, against whom he came back after losing the first set with a score of 4-6, 6-4 and 6-2. while on Friday he defeated fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar, whom he won in two sets 6-4 and 6-4, but also with a comeback in the second when he was losing 4-1.

The Chilean beat the Frenchman Moutet 4-6, 6-4 and 7-5, who in the previous match had defeated Jarry in a very tight two-set match 7-6 defined in a tie break in which he showed his provocative way of playing, which included some underhand serves, and an attitude that caused the defending champion to lose control.

Tabilo, Chile’s second racket, advanced to this stage by defeating his compatriot Tomás Barrios 6-2 and 7-5 in the round of 16 and the Italian Luciano Darderi, ATP champion from Córdoba, 6-0 and 7-5. ‘Jano’, as the Chilean is known, has been exhibiting a good level in his game since the Davis Cup dispute with his country against Peru, where he was the best on the team. On the South American tour, however, he had not achieved great results, falling in the round of 16 in Buenos Aires and in the first round in Rio de Janeiro.

The 23-year-old Argentine tennis player is going through his best weeks on the circuit after having won his first ATP 500 last weekend after beating his compatriot Mariano Navone in the final and reaching the semifinals of the ATP 250 in Córdoba, already fourth. of the Argentina Open.

The man who in 2018 was world number 1 at the junior level has already accumulated five titles in his professional career since he made the leap to professionalism. He won in 2022 in Estoril and last year he added three more crowns between Winston-Salem, Kitzbuhel and Córdoba, beyond the recent success in Brazil. He also played two other finals without luck, both in 2022 in Santiago de Chile and Bastad.

The coronation in Brazil allowed Báez to surpass the national line of Diego Schwartzman, who has four ATP crowns in his career. Seba now appears alone with his five singles titles still very far from the select group that heads the 62 celebrations of Guillermo Vilas, the 25 of José Luis Clerc, the 22 of Juan Martín del Potro, the 12 of Martín Jaite, the 11 of David Nalbandian and the 9 that Guillermo Pérez Roldán, Pico Monaco and Guillermo Coria imitated. The Top Ten is completed by Gastón Gaudio (8) and Guillermo Cañas (7).

It must be remembered that this traditional tournament in Santiago de Chile was played for the first time in 1976. Although it had interruptions, there were nine Argentines who managed to take the crown: Guillermo Vilas (1977), José Luis Clerc (1978), Javier Frana (1993 ), Hernán Gumy (1996), Guillermo Coria (2001), Gastón Gaudio (2005), José Acasuso (2006), Juan Monaco (2012) and Horacio Zeballos (2013).

2024-03-03 23:01:00
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