Sebastian Baez Outlasts Alejandro Tabilo to Claim Chile Open Title

Sebastian Baez is rockin’ & rollin’ through South America…

The 23-year-old Argentine tennis player completed his South American clay-court swing on a high note on Sunday in Santiago, rallying past home favorite Alejandro Tabilo 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 in the final of the Chile Open to secure his second title in as many weeks.

Sebastian BaezLast week Baez triumphed at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro.

Baez has won nine consecutive matches and will climb to a career-high No. 19 in the ATP Rankings on Monday.

He found his best tennis when it mattered most on Court Jaime Fillol, earning 12 of the championship clash’s final 16 games to emerge victorious after two hours and 14 minutes.

Baez’s winning streak appeared in jeopardy when this year’s Auckland champion Tabilo made a quick start in front of a partisan crowd. Chants of “Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le! Viva Chile!” filled the air as day turned to night and the lefty moved to within a set of earning his second ATP Tour crown.

Tabilo also was able to draw confidence from the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting last year in Cordoba, which he won in straight sets. But one of the key differences in this encounter was how Baez performed under pressure.

When the pair met in Cordoba, Baez saved just one of the six break points he faced. In Santiago, he saved eight of 10 break points while converting five of his 16 opportunities according to Infosys ATP Stats.

After an uncharacteristically out-of-rhythm start from Baez, he locked in from the back of the court for the final two sets. Many rallies were grinding duels from behind the baseline and in those situations, Tabilo was unable to consistently find ways to put his opponent under duress.

Tabilo found his moments and hit some jaw-dropping shots, 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 ride those waves of momentum and rely on his heavy forehand to control the action. Despite losing serve on the verge of victory, he broke in the next game, hitting a final forehand winner to capture his fifth title since the start of the 2023 season.

Baez is now fifth in the ATP Live Race To Turin and is 16-5 in 2024. He’s trying to qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time.

With the win, he became the first player to win multiple titles during the South American clay-court swing since Cristian Garin in 2020.

Tomas Martin Etcheverry Defeats Christian Garin to Reach US Clay Court Championships Semifinals

Tomas Martin Etcheverry has reached the final four…

The 23-year-old Argentinian tennis player, the No 8 seed, moved into the last four of the US Clay Court Championships by defeating Cristian Garin 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-3 at River Oaks Country Club in Houston on Saturday night.

Tomas Martin EtcheverryEtcheverry, ranked No 73, will play German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann next.

Ahead of his victory, Etcheverry won against Juan Manuel Cerundolo (6-3, 6-4) and Australian Max Purcell (7-6 (5), 6-1).

Garin, ranked No 74, beat Hugo Dellien (6-3, 6-0) and Belgian lucky loser Zizou Bergs (7-6 (4), 7-6 (1)) earlier in the tournament.

This is Etcheverry’s second ATP Tour semifinal.

He previously reached the final at the 2023 Chile Open, losing in the final in three sets to home favorite Nicolas Jarry.

Nicolas Jarry to Face Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Chile Open Final

Nicolas Jarry is one win away from claiming a title at home

The 27-year-old Chilean tennis player and home-crowd favorite and Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry have advanced to the final of the Chile Open on Saturday.

Nicolas JarryJarry beat Spain’s Jaume Munar 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 to play his second professional final, the first since his doping suspension in in April 2020.

Earlier, Etcheverry won his all-Argentine semifinal against third-seeded Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-3 to advance to his first tour final.

Jarry and Etcheverry have met only once previously, in the first round at Cordoba last year, which the Argentine won in three sets.

Pedro Martinez Claims First-Ever ATP Title at Chile Open

It’s a special first for Pedro Martinez.

The 24-year-old Spanish professional tennis player won the Chile Open clay-court tournament on Sunday with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez.

Pedro MartinezIt was Martinez’s first professional title.

Martinez lost last year’s Kitzbuhel Open in Austria in another clay-court tournament.

Baez also was attempting to win his first pro title.

Martinez’s path to the title included victories against his countryman Jaume Munar, Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann and Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo.

“I have competed, competed, and at last I made it,” Martinez said. “This is a new step in my career. And I am ready for whatever comes next.”

Baez said he was happy with the week despite his loss in the final.

“In the important moments, Pedro was better than me today,” he said. “Maybe he was more focused. I will work on that and come back better next year.”

Carlos Alcaraz Among ESPN’s ’21 Under 21′ Tennis Players to Watch in 2021

Carlos Alcaraz is among the phenoms to watch this year…

ESPN has announced tennis’ 21 under 21 for 2021, with the 17-year-old Spanish tennis player among the sport’s rising stars making the grade.

Carlos Alcaraz

Despite the circumstances of the 2020 season, Alcaraz managed to move up 350 spots the rankings by year’s end, moving from No. 491 to No. 141, even reaching a career-high of No. 136 in October.

He started the year with back-to-back titles on the ITF Futures tour and was granted a wild card into the Rio Open in February. And the then-16-year-old made the most of his ATP Tour level debut, upsetting former World No. 17 Albert Ramos-Viñolas in 3 hours, 36 minutes in the opening round to become the first player born in 2003 to win a match and the youngest match winner since 2013. Alcaraz called the victory the high point of his season.

Following the restart of the season in August, Alcaraz went 20-4 in ATP Challenger events and won three titles at Trieste, Barcelona and Alicante, as well as playing in the final at Cordenons. He was named the ATP‘s Newcomer of the Year and is the youngest player in the top 600.

But Alcaraz, who idolizes fellow countryman Rafael Nadal, has even bigger goals for 2021. He hopes to make his first main draw appearance at a major in Australia in February and then play in all of the Grand Slams. As for his ranking? He’s hoping to make another big push in the new year.

“I want to finish the year in the top 50,” he said.

But Alcaraz isn’t the only Latinx tennis player to make the list…

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez completed her high school studies in the spring during the tour stoppage.

The 18-year-old half-Ecuadorian tennis player made her major main draw debut at the Australian Open in January — just a year removed from winning the junior title — but it was what she did in the weeks following the event that raised tennis fans’ eyebrows.

After losing in the first round in Melbourne, Fernandez scored her first win over a top-10 player (Belinda Bencic) while representing Canada in the Fed Cup (now known as the Billie Jean King Cup) in Switzerland. Later that month, she won six matches in seven days as a wild card qualifier in the Mexican Open, rolling into the final, where she ultimately lost to Heather Watson. The following week, she advanced to the quarterfinals at the Monterrey Open, defeating 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the second round.

Fernandez made a second-round appearance at the US Open and advanced to the third round of the French Open, where she took a 5-1 first-set lead over Petra Kvitova before the two-time major champion came back to win.

Fernandez thinks her 2021 will be even more successful. Her plan is to reach the top 10 by the end of the year.

Thiago Seyboth Wild wasn’t exactly the favorite entering the Chile Open last February after cracking the top 200 for the first time. But having notched one of the biggest wins of his career the week prior at the Rio Open in 3 hours, 49 minutes — the longest match ever in tournament history — over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and taking World No. 32 Borna Ćorić to three sets the next round, the then-19-year old Brazilian tennis player was flying high entering the event.

What he did over the course of the week in Santiago was even more impressive.

Seyboth Wild knocked off three seeds en route to the title, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to win an ATP event and the youngest Brazilian champion in the Open era.

He found mixed results after the restart, losing in the first round of the US Open and not making it past qualifying at the French Open. But he made a finals appearance at a Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence, which lifted him to a career-high No. 106 in the rankings.

Seyboth Wild hopes to build off what he achieved in 2020 in the new year, although he says he focused more on some of the small things during the preseason.

Here’s the complete list in alphabetical order:

Carlos Alcaraz
Age: 17
Ranking: 141
Country: Spain
Career highlights: Winner of three ATP Challenger titles and three ITF Futures titles; Won his ATP main draw debut at the 2020 Rio Open

Bianca Andreescu
Age: 20
Ranking: 7
Country: Canada
Career highlights: Champion, 2019 US Open, 2019 Indian Wells and 2019 Canadian Open

Amanda Anisimova
Age: 19
Ranking: 30
Country: USA
Career highlights: Semifinals, 2019 French Open; Champion, 2019 Copa Colsanitas

Felix Auger-Aliassime
Age: 20
Ranking: 21 (77 in doubles)
Country: Canada
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2020 US Open; Six-time ATP finalist; Doubles champion, 2020 Paris Masters 

Leylah Fernandez
Age: 18
Ranking: 88
Country: Canada
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 French Open; Finalist, 2020 Mexican Open

Hugo Gaston
Age: 20
Ranking: 162
Country: France
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2020 French Open

Coco Gauff
Age: 16
Ranking: 48 (45 in doubles)
Country: USA
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2019 Wimbledon and 2020 Australian Open; Doubles quarterfinals, 2020 Australian Open; Champion, 2019 Linz Open; Doubles champion, 2019 Washington Open and 2019 Luxembourg Open

Varvara Gracheva
Age: 20
Ranking: 94
Country: Russia
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 US Open; Seven ITF titles 

Kaja Juvan
Age: 20
Ranking: 104
Country: Slovenia
Career highlights: Second round, 2019 Wimbledon, 2020 US Open, 2020 French Open; Seven ITF titles 

Sebastian Korda
Age: 20
Ranking: 118
Country: USA
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2020 French Open; One title on ATP Challenger Tour 

Marta Kostyuk
Age: 18
Ranking: 99 (112 in doubles)
Country: Ukraine
Career highlights: Third round, 2018 Australian Open, 2020 US Open; Three ITF singles titles, two ITF doubles titles 

Ann Li
Age: 20
Ranking: 98
Country: USA
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 US Open; Three ITF titles 

Caty McNally
Age: 19
Ranking: 121 (42 in doubles)
Country: USA
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 US Open; Doubles quarterfinals, 2020 Australian Open; Doubles champion, 2019 Washington Open and 2019 Luxembourg Open 

Lorenzo Musetti
Age: 18
Ranking: 128
Country: Italy
Career highlights: Semifinals, 2020 Sardinia; Third round, 2020 Italian Open; One ATP Challenger title and two ITF Futures titles 

Brandon Nakashima
Age: 19
Ranking: 166
Country: USA
Career highlights: Second round, 2020 US Open; One ATP Challenger title and two ITF Futures titles 

Anastasia Potapova
Age: 19
Ranking: 101 (133 in doubles)
Country: Russia
Career highlights: Second round, 2019 Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon; Finalist, 2018 Moscow River Cup, 2018 Tashkent Open; Doubles champion, 2018 Moscow River Cup, 2019 Lausanne

Thiago Seyboth Wild
Age: 20
Ranking: 116
Country: Brazil
Career highlights: First round, 2020 US Open; Champion, 2020 Chile Open

Jannik Sinner
Age: 19
Ranking: 37
Country: Italy
Career highlights: Quarterfinals, 2020 French Open; Champion, 2020 Sofia Open, 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals 

Iga Swiatek
Age: 19
Ranking: 17 (75 in doubles)
Country: Poland
Career highlights: Champion, 2020 French Open 

Clara Tauson
Age: 18
Ranking: 152
Country: Denmark
Career highlights: Second round, 2020 French Open; Seven ITF titles 

Dayana Yastremska
Age: 20
Ranking: 29 (90 in doubles)
Country: Ukraine
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2019 Wimbledon; Champion, 2018 Hong Kong, 2019 Hua Hin, 2019 Strasbourg

Nadal Plans to Compete at Chile Open

Following a delayed return to competitive play, Rafael Nadal has set his sights on a Chilean comeback…

Chile Open organizers have announced that 26-year-old Spanish tenista plans to make his debut at the clay-court event in early February.

Rafael Nadal II

Nadal hasn’t played competitive tennis since last June, mainly due to tendinitis in his left knee. He’d planned to play in an Abu Dhabi exhibition event in late December, but he withdraw and skipped the Australian Open due to a stomach virus.

Nadal then planned to return in late February. But organizers of the Brazil Open in Sao Paulo have reported that he entered the tournament, which begins on February 11. He’s also signed up for the Mexican Open in Acapulco on February 25.

Nadal won the Brazil and Mexican titles the only time he entered them in 2005.

The Chile Open starts February 4 in Viña del Mar.