CONCEPCION, February 21, 2021
Francisco Cerundolo and Sebastian Baez will meet in an all-Argentine singles final of the Dove Men & Care Challenger Concepcion held at the Club de Campo Bellavista in Concepcion in Chile.
In-form Cerundolo eased past Alejandro Tabilo of Chile 6-1, 6-1 in Saturday’s semi-finals. The World No. 146 converted five of his 13 break-point chances to advance in 62 minutes.
“The truth is that I played very well, I was precise, I put a lot of pressure on him and he started to make some errors. I am happy because I was able to win in a dominant way,” Cerundolo said after reaching the fourth championship match in his last six tournaments.
Seriously, can anyone beat @FranCerundolo? 🔥🔥
✅ 22-2 since September
✅ Fourth final appearance in last six tournaments
✅ Going for title No. 4 on Sunday @ChallConcepcion pic.twitter.com/WIWvJPdiQs— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) February 20, 2021
Earlier in the day, Baez knocked out No. 2 seed Andrej Martin of Slovakia 6-4, 6-3. The 20-year-old from Buenos Aires won 56 per cent of the total points played to prevail after one hour and 31 minutes.
Así cerró Sebastián Báez su partido de semifinales para llegar a la primera final a nivel Challenger en su corta carrera.
¡Felicitaciones @Seba_baez7! #Tenis #ChConce #Concepción #Chile #Baez #final pic.twitter.com/n2yn6RZl1I
— Challenger Concepción (@ChallConcepcion) February 20, 2021
“I am happy for the victory. I was able to take one more step, but there is one more tomorrow. I did not arrive with any expectations. Reaching the final is a bit of a reward for an effort that has been made for a long time, not only mine but also my team and my coach Sebastián Gutiérrez,” said Baez.
Following five triumphs on the ITF Pro Circuit, Baez is seeking his maiden Challenger crown. Cerundolo is bidding lift his fourth Challenger career trophy. Cerundolo also won the only previous meeting between the two at an ITF Futures event in Argentina three years ago.
Top seeds from Brazil take doubles title
In other action, Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos clinched the doubles title. The top seeds from Brazil, who didn’t play a match en route to the final, defeated No. 2 seeds Sergio Galdos of Peru and Diego Hidalgo from Ecuador 7-5, 6-4. The encounter lasted one hour and 30 minutes.
“It is great to be playing in South America. I just want to thank those who have made this possible,” said Luz.
“Horacio (de la Peña), Eddie (Fiumara), all those who are involved in the tournament, the ‘physio’, the ball-boys, the referees, the sponsors who make this possible, because it is very difficult to travel right now. The truth is that this is my first tournament in two months of the year as I have not been able to travel. I am very happy to win the title here. I thank my partner. I hope to return to Concepcion, as I really enjoyed playing here and hopefully we will have many more tournaments in South America.”
