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The ‘Sunshine Swing’ of four South American clay court tournaments ended in Santiago, Chile with Sebastain Baez as their champion after defeating local hero Aejandro Tabilo 3-6 6-0 6-4.
The Argentine recovered in the final of the Movistar Chile Open to win his second title in as many weeks having won the Rio de Santiago leg seven days ago.
“[I have] many feelings because in the beginning of the match, I didn’t feel good,” Baez revealed following his victory. “It was all different, the first set, the second set and the third.
He found his best tennis when it mattered most, earning 12 of the championship clash’s final 16 games to emerge victorious in the evening light after two hours and 14 minutes, successfully ignoring the loud partisan crowd in the process.
After a slow start from Baez, he locked in on the baseline for the final two sets, grinding out duels from behind the back of the court putting Tabilo consistently under pressure.
The Chilean did have moments 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 fend off any possible recovery and control the match and break with a final forehand winner to capture his fifth title since the start of the 2023 season. The 23-year-old should climb to a career-high No.19 in the latest rankings published Monday.
Delighted at his recent success, Baez added on being asked what was next for him.
“We will try to be focused on the job, and we’ll see,” he responded.
(Photo by RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP via Getty Images)
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