It is the seventh consecutive victory of Sebastian Baez, 21st in the world ranking. He advanced to the semifinals of the Santiago ATP for the third consecutive year: this time, the recent champion from Rio de Janeiro defeated the Spaniard James Munar (70th) for a double 6-4… and it was even 1-4 in the second set. Every day he plays better, looser.
The Argentine tennis player, brilliant champion last Sunday at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro, beat the Spaniard Jaume Munar this Friday in the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 in Santiago, in Chile, and advanced to the semifinals for the third time in his fourth participation .
Báez, who rose to 21st place in the ATP world ranking after his victory in Rio, is the second seed in Santiago and had no major problems beating Munar (70), with whom he had a distant history when he lost in the qualification to enter the Argentina Open in the 2021 edition, in one hour and 48 minutes of play.
Báez, champion of four other tournaments in his career (Estoril 2022, Córdoba Open, Kitzbuhel and Winston Salemall three in 2023), will play this Saturday against the Spanish Pedro Martínez, who won over Frenchman Arthur Fils (44th) 6-3, 6-7 and 6-2. After this Friday’s battle, he received the affection of Argentine and, above all, Chilean sympathizers, who put aside the historical sporting frictions and asked him for selfies and autographs. And good vibes.
The tennis player born 23 years ago in Billinghurst, in the Buenos Aires match of San Martín, entered the tournament directly in the round of 16, won in three close sets against the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas (119) and this Friday achieved his seventh consecutive victory, added the five he had achieved in Rio.
The ATP 250 in Santiago, Chile, takes place on clay courts and awards a total of $742,350 in prize money.
The competition closes the South American tour on clay that was extremely beneficial for Argentine tennis players, with a finalist in the Córdoba Open (Bagnis) and two champions, Facundo Díaz Acosta in the Argentina Open and the aforementioned Báez title in Río de Janeiro.
Sebastián Báez is “a rock.” In a 170 centimeter package, with solid legs, hare-like speed and an extremely competitive spirit, he continues to grow in an increasingly demanding circuit made up, to a large extent, of giants over 1.85 metres.
How does Báez feel about having five titles at 23 years old? “I live it unconsciously because I continue playing and competing, there is revenge all the time, as happened to me these weeks… For example, in Córdoba I lost to Darderi and in Buenos Aires it was my turn in the second round and I beat him. Tennis is like that. Now I’m already thinking about what’s next, about the plane, the airport and quickly turning the page,” he told a few days ago. THE NATIONin the middle of the maelstrom.
Eight Argentines appear this week in the ATP top 100, a very notable record: “I congratulate you all. There are many guys I grew up with in my sporting life from an early age. It is a joy that we are there fighting to be better, to have what each one dreams of and that we push ourselves. Inwardly, that generates a healthy competitiveness and the desire to say: ‘Why, if someone could do it, I can’t it?’. This is what has been felt for a long time, especially with Fran [Cerúndolo]con Tommy [Etcheverry], fighting and drawing strength when sometimes it gets complicated.”
Themes
Other news from Sebastián Báez
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/lanacionar/XRS4F3URWBBHZLI5UMNMMRODGQ.JPG)
In Chile against a Chilean. The crazy Moutet show: an unusual ace, boos, provocative celebration and appeal to the public
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/lanacionar/HEGAJBNIT5FZRLWM6BPA7JQGIM.JPG)
Saturday TV. Messi, River, Independiente, Premier, Formula 1, Pumas 7s, Báez, the Golf Open and LeBron’s record
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/lanacionar/YK5B5EAOUJBMVFVFT3DLAYHHWI.jpg)