Auckland
Báez maintains his invincible aura of 2026 in Auckland
The Argentine is 4-0 this season
January 12, 2026
Paul Kane/Getty Images
The Argentine is the seventh seed this week in Auckland.
by this ATEDIDE ATP
Sebastián Báez only knows the taste of victories in 2026.
The Argentine landed safely this Monday at the ASB Classic in Auckland, making it clear that he is going through a moment of complete confidence in his shots. With permanent fighting ability in his manual, the Buenos Aires native caught one of the most intense battles of the day by defeating the American Emilio Nava 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. Far from being a surprise, it was the continuation of a fierce January.
Báez played a decisive role in Argentina reaching the quarterfinals in the United Cup just a few days ago, adding a full individual victory (3-0) against Stan Wawrinka, Jaume Munar and Taylor Fritz. An inertia that he hopes to maintain this week on the slopes of New Zealand.
“I have to thank all the fans who stayed to cheer me on. I thank you for the support I felt today,” Báez said to the stands, present in a match that ended after midnight. “There is a lot of work behind this match and the victories I achieved last week. I feel very happy about all of this and, of course, I want much more.”
The South American, present in Auckland for the third consecutive season, will face Jenson Brooksby in the round of 16, winner 6-4, 6-3 over local James Watt.
Argentine tennis also smiled with the triumph of Francisco Comesaña, able to add the first victory of his career on an Australian tour. The player from La Plata managed to win 6-4, 6-4 against Valentin Rojer to secure a ticket to the second round in Auckland.
The No. 66 in the PIF ATP Rankings has been impeccable on serve against the Frenchman. In addition to hitting 10 aces, he faced no break point opportunities, something that had never happened in his tour career in a finished match. His service dominance was such that he never reached 40-40 in any of his ten service turns.
That combined with the two breaks he achieved against the rest made him worthy of the victory after 80 minutes of play to leave the Lexus ATP HeadToHead at 1-0 between them, and to reach his tenth victory on hard courts on the ATP Tour.
A year ago, Comesaña entered the draw of this tournament as a lucky loser, in which he lost in the first round (l. to Basavareddy). Furthermore, his first victory of the year was in Rio de Janeiro. Now he has added for the first time in Auckland to achieve his first win of a season in January for the first time in his career.
His next challenge will be even greater: the most difficult of the week for any player. His next rival will be the American Ben Shelton, first seed and No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings. It will be the first confrontation between the two.
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