Francisco Cerundolo won the all-Argentine duel against eighth seed Sebastian Baez in his first appearance at the ATP 250 clay-court tournament, becoming an ATP titlist, the 8th first-time winner of the season.
In a top-level championship match, the 23-year-old overpowered World No. 34 Baez sealing a 7-6(4), 6-2 victory after one hour and 49 minutes.
During the trophy ceremony, speaking about his fellow countryman, Cerundolo said: “First of all, I want to congratulate Sebastian, not just for this week. You’ve been playing amazingly since last year.”
Adding: “[Winning the title] means a lot. Since you are a child, you imagine yourself playing in these events and finals. When I lost in Buenos Aires, I was sad because I was at home and lost badly, but I learned a lot from that. I used it today, and I think I played a great match, a great week.”
The Buenos Aires native reached the finals at the Argentina Open in 2021, losing to the Top seed Diego Schwartzman in straight sets.
This season, he advanced to the quarterfinals at the event seeing his campaign halted again by Schwartzman, who would lose to the eventual champion, World No. 5. Casper Ruud.
This week, defending his title in Bastad, the Norwegian player was shocked in the second round by Cerundolo, who battled hard to defeat the 8-time ATP titlist in a thrilling three-setter, clinching his first Top 10 win in the process.
Throughout the event, the World No. 39 beat Pedro Sousa, Ruud, Aslan Karatsev, and Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta before meeting Baez.
Cerundolo vs. Baez
A tight and balanced first set, played with great intensity, unfolded into a tie break in which Cerundolo held his nerve to open a 4-0 advantage over the 21-year-old, wrapping up the opener after 74 minutes.
In the second set, Francisco maintained momentum, dictating the rhythm, breaking his adversary on two occasions, and making good use of his biggest weapons, his serve and forehand, to close out the set 6-2, emerging victorious over the 2022 Millennium Estoril Open champion.
Overall, he won 65 percent of his first-serve points compared to his rival 53 percent, converting 3 of 11 break point opportunities while saving nine of the ten break points he faced.
On Monday, the reigning champion is set to crack into the Top 30.
A result of a dream week on Swedish soil and an impressive first half of the season in which the young Argentine moved into the last four at the Miami Open in his first-ever appearance at an ATP Masters 1000 main draw.
For his part, Baez commented: “Tennis is one part of life, and I think we have to enjoy it when we lose and when we win.”
“The little things, we have to enjoy every time, so I enjoyed this week, and I hope that next week will be better.”
On Tuesday, Baez is set to face last year’s finalist Serbian Filip Krajinovic at the Hamburg European Open, while Cerundolo would meet German Daniel Altmaier.
Carreno Busta is the defending champion, having edged the Serbian in straight sets last season.
The ATP 500 event runs from July 18th to the 24th at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany.