He was one stroke away from creating the surprise. The young Argentinian Sebastian Baez, 36th in the world, came close to a major success, Wednesday, May 25, against Alexander Zverev, in the second round of Roland-Garros. The third in the world had to save a match point before winning (2-6, 4-6, 6-1,6-2, 7-5). Despite this defeat, at 21, the native of Buenos Aires has set a date for the future, after a brilliant junior career and a good first part of the season. Franceinfo: sport paints a portrait of this great talent that we will talk about for sure.
World number one and Roland-Garros finalist among juniors
For tennis specialists, the emergence of Sebastian Baez at the highest level is not a huge surprise. The Argentinian has already made a lot of headlines among juniors, even becoming world number one in this category in 2018. The same year, he reached the Roland-Garros final, defeated by Taipei player Tseng Chun-hsin.
Playing singles isn’t the only card in Baez’s game. On his land in Buenos Aires, during the Youth Olympic Games, in the same year 2018, the person concerned won the gold medal in doubles, associated with his compatriot Facundo Diaz Acosta.
Semi-finalist of the last Next Generation tournament
Sebastian Baez is one of the biggest hopes in world tennis. In 2021, this pure earthling with a small size (1.70 meters for 70 kilos) participated at the end of last season in the Next Generation tournament in Milan (Italy), which brings together the best players aged 22 and under. The Argentine dominated American Sebastian Korda and Frenchman Hugo Gaston.
In the semi-finals, he had suffered the law of a certain Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard, new star of the circuit, swept it in just over an hour the Argentinian (4-2, 4-1, 4-2) in just over an hour.
Winner of his first ATP tournament this season
Sebastian Baez is currently having a good season in 2022. Before Roland-Garros, he won for the first tournament on the professional circuit, in Estoril (ATP 500), in Portugal. Unsurprisingly, it was on clay, his favorite surface, that the Argentinian tasted this happiness.
— Millennium #EstorilOpen (@EstorilOpen) May 1, 2022
Baez landed this title in style. Beating Marin Cilic, Richard Gasquet, defending champion Albert Ramos-Vinolas then Frances Tiafoe in the final, the Argentinian has taken a step forward. With this success, he reached his best career ranking, 36th in the world, just before starting Roland-Garros.
Still no win against a top 10 player
The third was almost the right one. Sebastian Baez has yet to beat a Top 10 player. Before this match at Roland-Garros, he had twice faced elite players, including … Alexander Zverev. The Argentinian indeed suffered the law of the German, on May 11, in the second round of the Rome tournament (7-6 [8-6]6-3).
A few months earlier, he snagged Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the Australian Open. After offering Albert Ramos-Vinolas for his entry into the running, Baez made the Athenian doubt (7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4). The 3h22 match allowed the Argentine talent to become known to the general public.