Facundo Bagnis clenches his fist and dreams of taking down Alcaraz in Umag. EFE / EPA / YOAN VALAT
Facundo Bagni he had not won a single match in the last four tournaments played before his arrival in Umag, but in the ATP 250 which is taking place in Croatia has been discovered and is already installed in the top eight.
The 32-year-old Argentine tennis player, who had beaten him Thomas Etcheverryhe beat the French in his most recent engagement Corentin Moutet, both without giving up the sets, and reached the semifinals. His rival, a heavyweight of the circuit: Carlos Alcaraz.
The number 5 in the world passed without playing the first round, since it is the first seed, and already in the second round he easily got rid of the Slovak Norbert Gombos, who had eliminated Federico Delbonis.
They have never met at the ATP level before, but they did twice on the Challenger circuit and on both occasions the victory fell in favor of the Spaniard. In 2020, in Cordenons, Italy, he won the quarter-finals, while last year he won the final in Oeiras, Portugal.
The most recent antecedent between Bagnis and Alcaraz, the final of the Oeiras Challenger in 2021. Instagram @fptenis
Umag is a city that brings back fond memories for Alcaraz, as he won his first ATP title there in 2021. and will go on a quest to revalidate the crown to remain steadfast in the fight for world number 1, which he himself has defined as one of his main goals for the remainder of the season.
Today, the “Race To Turin” (annual ranking) sees him in second place, 1455 points behind Nadal, but it is clear that, due to a generational problem, he will play many more tournaments than Rafa in the rest of the year. This, added to the difficulty of Djokovic to put together their calendar, how they were demoted Medvedev and Rublev after not being able to play at Wimbledon and the injury of ZverevThey leave you with a good chance of achieving your goal.
Bagnis, meanwhile, is playing the quarter-finals of an ATP tournament for the eighth time in his career. and the first since they did it in Santiago de Chile in February. Of the previous seven, only two (Córdoba and Santiago 2021) have continued to advance. Furthermore, a victory would bring him back to the Top 100 of the ranking. Will he be able to strike?
Source: Clarin
