CAMPINAS/STARNBERG, November 22, 2021
Sebastian Baez of Argentina crowned his fantastic season by capturing the title of the 11th edition of the Campeonato Internacional de Tenis in Campinas, Brazil. The No. 7 seed of the $52,080 ATP Challenger Tour clay-court tournament held at the Sociedade Hípica de Campinas defeated home favourite and fourth seed Thiago Monteiro 6-1, 6-4 in Sunday’s singles final.
Baez won 85 per cent of his first-service points and capitalized on all of his three break-point chances to seal victory in one hour and 12 minutes.
The 20-year-old earned $7,200 in prize money as well as 80 ATP Ranking points and has cracked the Top 100 for the first time.
“I think that was not expected,” Baez said and laughed. “I started the year at 300 in the world. I believe it was the result of a lot of work, not just this year, but many years. I couldn’t have done it without my coach. It feels really good, actually. I went up the rankings throughout the season and saw that the Top 100 was not so far away.”
Following his triumphs in Concepcion, Zagreb, Buenos Aires as well as two times in Santiago, Baez has become the third player to lift six ATP Challenger trophies in 2021. He joins Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi (six titles) and eight-time champion Tallon Griekspoor from the Netherlands.
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Monteiro, who was seeking his first title win on home soil, could also take some positives from his week. “It was a very positive tournament for me, making a final in Brazil after five years,” said Monteiro.
“The fans gave me a lot of strength throughout the week, helped me in difficult matches, like yesterday. Today the scenario was a bit similar, but Baez is pretty solid this year. He won his sixth title this year. He is a very promising Argentine and deserved the victory.”
World No. 94 Monteiro pocketed $4,240 in prize money as well as 48 ATP Ranking points.
