04/03/2024 17:16hs.
Sebastian Baez (19th) works in silence. Without looking for cameras or flashes, no matter how impactful their images with the champion trophies are. He prefers to talk on the field with his game, the one that made thousands of Argentine fans who followed his games in the last game get up from their couch at home. ATP 250 in Santiago, where he retired with the cup, through the television. And that same boy, born 23 years ago in Billinghurst, San Martín district (40 minutes by car from the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires), is demonstrating in these first months of 2024 that he has the necessary weapons to fight as equals. the same against any rival.
He doesn’t care if he has the No. 3 in the world in front of him, Jannik Sinneras It happened at the Australian Openwhere the Italian, future champion, spread him across the court with a resounding 6-0, 6-1 and 6-3, or 338th in the ranking, a position occupied by the Kazakh Dmitry Popko in that hinge match corresponding to the fifth point of the Davis Cup. A match that could have changed the subsequent results, with a South American tour to put in the picture. He added 900 points, the product of two titles (Rio de Janeiro and Santiago), a semifinal (Córdoba) and a quarterfinal (Buenos Aires), and he placed among the five best in the Race to Turin.
Báez saved the chips in the Playoffs against Kazakhstan. (Juanjo García)
In short, Báez feels confident in the work he does daily with his coach Sebastián Gutiérrez, whom he considers almost like a father. “Thank you Guti for continuing to help me be a better person and athlete at the same time,” he wrote on more than one occasion to show that the connection between the two is very close. Whenever he can, he thanks him for the bond they formed since 2015. There were hours and hours of learning. Of talks. So much so that the coach designed a series of power points so that his pupil knew more about tactics, particular plays and strategies. Without getting his socks dirty on clay, his favorite surface, he assimilated concepts of the game.
The arrival of Gutiérrez to the Báez work team, who previously trained with José Luis Clerc at his Parque Roca Academy, was a 180º change: by mutual agreement they eliminated sodas, organized themselves on nutritional issues and improved rest. And since his jump to professionalism, mainly once the activity returned after the stoppage due to the Covid-19 pandemic, his entire career was on the rise. Far from the flashes and the press, Seba tries not to stand out anywhere other than on the court. And his great leap ended with him the incorporation of Martiano Orazi as physical trainer. Who knew how to guide the career of Juan Martín Del Potro in its most successful stage, turned the best national racket into a Formula 1. In addition to his reading to anticipate rival shots, he added an athletic ability that allows him to play for hours without any Type of problem.
Orazi, in red, with Sebastián Gutiérrez and Sebastián Báez. (IG/martianoorazi)
Beyond the fact that he wants to have his feet on the ground, the growth that Báez has undergone throughout this season is indisputable. He notices that he is becoming more and more aggressive in his game, he has more resources on the serve, he is encouraged to go more (and better) to the net and, to top it all off, looks unbeatable on clay. Thus it went from 28th to 19th place, broke the top20 barrier for the first time in his career and dreams of continuing to cross off items from his to-do list. Not to mention that he entered the top 10 of the greatest Argentine champions in history, after reaching his sixth conquest (Estoril 2022, Córdoba 2023, Kitzbuhel 2023, Winston-Salem 2023, Río 2024 and Santiago 2024).
With a lot to add in the Masters 1000 (he never surpassed R32) and in the Grand Slams (his best result was the last Australian Open, where he reached the third round), the Argentine wants to continue taking steps forward on his way to Wimbledon . In fact, He barely defends 305 points up to and including the London Grand Slam. Therefore, his aspiration to reach the top 10 in that period is real, given that he is 1225 behind Alex De Miñaur, who is the last one who is integrating that privileged lot. And with the ability to adapt that he has, everything is possible.
Without a doubt, Báez is an all-rounder who goes for more and nothing and no one can say no to him. “Why not me?” is the phrase he has tattooed on his right arm. And he asks himself that every day when someone questions his progress. One who never stops moving forward. constantly.
2024-03-04 20:16:04
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