Sebastian Baez reinforces his status as an ‘earthling’ in Hamburg | ATP Tour

Hamburg

Báez reinforces his status as an ‘earthling’ in Hamburg

The Argentine is in the semi-finals as the player with the most victories on clay (23)

July 19, 2024

Clay courts require a special recipe: prolonged intensity from the first to the last ball, and usually reward those who show great fighting spirit. All these conditions are met by Sebastián Báez, who once again demonstrated on Friday why he is the player with the most victories on clay.

The Argentine, seeded No. 3 at the Hamburg Open, advanced to the semi-finals of the ATP 500 on clay, after coming from behind to beat Luciano Darderi 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 17 minutes.

Báez confirmed his leadership on the surface, having already won 23 matches on clay (of the 26 he has in total this season). However, it is the second time that the Argentine has reached the semi-finals of an ATP 500 tournament in 2024, having also done so in Rio de Janeiro where he was champion.

For the player born in Buenos Aires 23 years ago, this is the eleventh semifinal of his career — he has an 8-2 record in this round — and only one of them was not on clay.

In Hamburg, where he is aiming to equal Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz with two ATP 500 titles in the same year, he will face No. 5 seed Arthur Fils in the semi-finals, who clinched his place after Holger Rune retired at 6-4, 4-1 after 65 minutes of play.

The 20-year-old Frenchman repeats his best result in Hamburg a year after appearing in the same round by beating top seed Casper Ruud. This time, he has done the same by beating the second seed.

Fils has made it to the final seven times in his career, with a 2-4 record so far. On the German clay he has achieved a double milestone in his career, as well as being the only tournament outside of ATP 250 territory where he has reached the semi-finals, it is the first where he has managed to reach this round on multiple occasions.

Baez will face Fils for the first time this Saturday in Hamburg.

Did you know…?

Sebastián Báez is the player with the most titles on clay with two crowns, equal to Casper Ruud. The Argentinean won the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro and the ATP 250 in Santiago.