From the game with his mother when he was a baby to Batata Clerc’s important push: Báez’s explosion of hope without a ceiling

“Why not me?”. That simple question, that’s what it means in Spanish “Because I don’t want to?”became the registered signature of Sebastián Báez during his time in Estoril ATP. A phrase that he and his coach Sebastian Gutierrez found printed a few weeks ago on the bracelet that Americans always wear Frances Tiafoecertainly the rival the Buenos Aires native defeated in the final of the Portuguese tournament this Sunday to win his first title on the professional circuit, and which they adopted because it represents the work philosophy of the two, which gave him so many good results. in past times.

“Those words have a special meaning. It’s to believe in me, in what I have and what I am. Appreciate myself and why I’m not. That’s the message of belief. If you believe, you can. “The Argentine commented on Sunday.

“Now I have a lot of things on my mind, a lot of thoughts … But I think the word that best summarizes what I feel is pride”he added at the awards ceremony.

And the victory against Tiafoe — who became the first Argentine to lift a trophy this season — was the result of years of effort, of not giving up in the face of adversity and of fighting a system that hasn’t done the easy thing. And to face each challenge with very clear ideas: the goal is never the result, but to thrive. The goal is to get a little better every day.

“I’m very happy. Not just because of what I achieved this week, but because of where I was last week and where I am today. It’s one of the things that you take with you, keep pushing, keep trying, because you don’t know how far life will go “reviewed native Buenos Aires, who climbed to 44th place in the world and remains ranked best in Next generation Argentina.

Báez dreamed of playing tennis from an early age. According to legend, when he was only two years old he found his father’s racket and started pulling it around his house. And then his mother started stoning him, to see if he would be slapped. He has grown to idolize Roger Federer -who he will surpass this Monday in the rankings- and is looking at Diego Schwartzman, a reference for him because of his stature (he is 1.70, as small). He received a big hand from José Luis Clerc, who discovered him at the age of 10 and became an important person in his life. And in 2015, he started working with Gutiérrez. Since then, it hasn’t stopped growing.

“With Seba we hit a lot of vibes very fast and when I started working with him the results didn’t take long to appear. It is a different society, not only because he is a great guy, but also because he is very capable , very intelligent when it comes to taking decisions and was putting together a team that ended up becoming a family. He was someone who supported me a lot on trips and that was important. I had complete trust in him “Báez told Clarín at the end of a 2021 that marked a break in his career.

After winning in 2015 at the prestigious orange bowl in the Under 16 category, at the age of just 14, and reached number one in the world in juniors in March 2018, in 2019 he began to take his first steps as a professional. And last year, it exploded.

He has captured six Challengers titles (he became the youngest player to win that amount in a season), made it into the top 100 and even enjoyed playing -and reaching the semifinals- of Next Gen Masters, in Milan. And he was appointed by the ATP as “Breakthrough of the Year”difference that finally took over the American Jenson Brooksby.

It’s all based on a lot of work, giving great importance to the mental and emotional aspects to overcome internal barriers, gain confidence and become more motivated, and paddle against the current. Due to the freezing of the ranking it was more difficult for him to climb the positions. And because, although it’s one of the main rackets of the new breed of Argentine players asking for the track, did not receive any wild cards throughout the season. For this reason, too, all achievements have a more special taste.

“It’s an achievement for me and for my whole team. And I think you also have to find motivation in those little things”commented in December on the lack of opportunities. “We never think of a ranking or a result as objectives. It’s about taking steps, working hard and doing things well. The rest will follow”.

This year he made it to his debut in a Grand Slam main draw, in Australia. In February, he reached his first final in Santiago de Chile. He made his Davis Cup debut in March with great emotion. In April, he passed the Montecarlo classification and played for the first time the main draw of a Masters 1000.

This Sunday, he inaugurated his record, to put the end to an incredible week, in which he defeated three former tournament champions (Joao Sousa, Richard Gasquet Y Albert Ramos Vinolas), a finalist (Tiafoe) and a former world number three and Grand Slam winner (Marin Cilic). And that “Why not me?” became a “Yes, it’s me!” (Yes, it’s me!), With him he signed his first big hit at the highest level of world tennis.

“I was just about to enter the circuit. Playing with rivals I saw on TV was rare, but in those moments I leaned on my team and I tried to do my best”recognized Buenos Aires. “I tried to respect the tactics that were suggested. One of the keys was to still play the tournament and every match as much as possible. That’s something my coach has improved on.”.

With humility and a lot of perseverance, Báez has become one of the Argentine tennis players to make the most progress so far this season. What’s more, some players on the tour have taken as many steps forward as he did. Now you can be proud to say that he fulfilled a dream and already has an ATP title in his possession. And he knows that the key is, more than his talent and ability to racket, the way he approaches his career every day.

“To enjoy it and continue to break my soul to achieve all I can. To continue to dream and continue to share with the people I love the most, with those with me. This is what drives me to move forward”assured. “That restraint and that love is what we have worked so hard for, to continue to improve not only to be a great tennis player but to be a good person”.