Báez and Fede Coria, the Argentine hopes for the semifinals of the Córdoba Open 2023

Sebastian Baez (47th in the ATP ranking) e Frederick Coria (67th) will defend the Argentine flag this Saturday in the semifinals of the fifth edition of the Cordoba open, contest that opens the South American tour on brick dust. His rivals will be with the Bolivian Hugo Dellien and the Spanish Alberto Ramos Vinolasrespectively, to define those who will fight for the title.

All is happiness for Báez. The fourth seed returned to her best level at the Córdoba Open, notching her first wins of the year and stringing together wins for the first time since July, when she reached the final in Bastad. 80% of the points won with the first serve boosted the 22-year-old tennis player this Friday in the cross against the Chilean Marcelo Tomás Barrios Vera, debuting in the quarterfinals of an ATP tournament.

“Beyond the support of my team, it’s amazing to play with so many people in my favor. It’s a great motivation and today it helped us to be able to face the difficult moments of the match.”recognized that he will play his first semi-final in the country at the circuit.

Although it seemed that there could be a duel of young national promises with Juan Manuel Cerundolothe southpaw lost the long game of ten undefeated at the Córdoba Open and was defeated by Dellien (138th), who backed up his performance on the rise from the qualifying table.

The game changer of the match was the ninth of the second set, as the Bolivian broke serve for the first time in the set and, since then, has held all the games in dispute to seal his debut as a semifinalist at the ATP level . The match with Báez will be played this Saturday in the second round of the main stadium, not before 15:00, with Fox Sports television.

After a new high-level production, sixth seed Fede Coria prevailed 6-3, 3-0 when Francisco Cerúndolo had to withdraw with a right adductor injury. “I like the conditions here, so I come here well motivated. There are players who struggle to hit the ball in the heat. He had a tough opponent in Francisco, he had seen his match yesterday and felt it could have been difficult for him if the match hadn’t started well. I knew I had to play a difficult game against him”remarked that he had beaten the Brazilian Thiago Monteiro in the first round and the Italian Marco Cecchinato in the next one.

The psychic injection from the recent Challenger conquest in Concepción de Chile has given the 30-year-old from Rosario a lot of confidence, who dreams of obtaining his first title on the circuit. “I play at a high level, this year I trained to win an ATP title,” he said earlier in the week. He is her runner-up in the semifinals of the Córdoba Open, with the particularity that in 2021 she had also defeated the older Cerúndolo in the step preceding the instance.

To get close to the dream of winning his first title, Coria will have to overcome a rival accustomed to the great feats of the Polo Deportivo Kempes: Alberto Ramos Vinolas (54th), last champion and historic leader in tournament victories with 17. The Spaniard showed his usual strength in big battles and won one more three-set match by beating Portuguese Joao Sousa 6-4, 2-6 and 6 – 1. “He’s the favorite because he’s used to playing on this type of pitch. I’ve trained many times, but never faced it. I trust in my tennis and in the support of the people,” remarked Coria. They open on Saturdays from 12.30.

As for the doubles mode, the biggest favorites raised a match point to advance to the semifinals: the Brazilian Rafael Matos (champion in 2021 with his compatriot Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves) and the Spanish David Vega Hernández beat the South Americans Nicolás Barrientos and Ariel Behar. The Argentines had a mixed balance, as Máximo González and second-seeded Andrés Molteni advanced to the next instance; instead Guido Andreozzi and Guillermo Durán said goodbye in three sets.