Roberto Carballes Baena continues his upsetting ways…
For the third time this week at the Grand Prix Hassan II, the 30-year-old Spanish tennis player has defeated a seeded opponent in Marrakech.
On Saturday, Carballes Baena came from behind to upset second seed Daniel Evans 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and advance to his second tour-level final.
Carballes Baena, who won his only previous title match in Quito in 2018, picked up his first win against a Top 35 opponent this season in what was his first tour-level semifinal since he reached the last four in Bastad in 2021.
“I don’t know why, but all the time that I come here I think I play my best tennis,” said Carballes Baena, who improved to 10-3 in Marrakech, with a previous semifinal run in 2014 as a qualifier and a quarter-final run last season. “I won my first Challenger also here [in Morocco]. I feel very good and I will try to do a good match tomorrow.”
Carballes Baena used a five-game flurry to turn the match around from 3-4 in the second set. He had not broken serve since the opening game of the match, but he did so in consecutive return games to win the second set and take a 2-0 lead in the decider.
As his relentless baseline game continued to reap rewards, Carballes Baena’s third break of the match gave him a 4-1 lead, and he consolidated his advantage by saving a break point in the ensuing service game.
After knocking of fifth seed Maxime Cressy in the first round and fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor in the quarters, both in three sets, Carballes Baena will meet an unseeded opponent in Sunday’s final: Alexandre Muller.
“I will try to see the match now a little bit,” the Spaniard said. “They are playing very well so for sure it will be a very tough match tomorrow.”
“I am so tired, but I am very, very happy,” Carballes Baena said. “It was a very, very tough match.”