Cerundolo Overcomes Baez For Maiden Tour Title In Bastad

Francisco Cerundolo capped an impressive week at the Nordea Open in Bastad with a high-quality straight-sets victory against countryman Sebastian Baez on Sunday to lift his maiden ATP Tour title.

Both players had showcased plenty of clean baseline hitting en route to the final this week in Sweden, but it was Cerundolo who raised his level at key moments on Sunday to secure a 7-6(4), 6-2 championship match triumph at the ATP 250 event.

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The victory represents another milestone in a breakthrough season for Cerundolo. The 23-year-old cracked the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time in February after runs to the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires and the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro, before reaching a maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Miami in March.

His victory against Baez is set to lift Cerundolo into the Top 30 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday. The Argentine upset Casper Ruud in three sets for his first Top 10 win in the second round in Bastad, while he also defeated Pedro Sousa, Aslan Karatsev, and Pablo Carreno Busta to set a final showdown with Baez.

Cerundolo's first ATP Head2Head meeting with Baez was his second ATP Tour final after he won just three games against another Argentine, Diego Schwartzman, in his hometown of Buenos Aires in 2021. Cerundolo banished those memories in style on Sunday in Sweden, as he recovered from dropping serve in the opening game of the match to seal his fourth straight-sets victory in five matches this week.

After an early exchange of breaks in the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting, a marathon 11th game proved decisive to the outcome of the opening set in Bastad. The 21-year-old Baez’s aggressive approach earned him six break points but Cerundolo held firm to hold. He then opened up a 4/0 lead in the first-set tie-break, going on to clinch an intriguing 74-minute set after a Baez double fault.

The momentum was with Cerundolo and he continued to dictate play with his huge forehand as Baez struggled to regain a foothold in the match. Cerundolo broke twice in the second set, staying solid behind serve before falling to the ground in ecstasy after wrapping up victory in one hour, 49 minutes.