It’s all of Argentina in Sweden, when Baez and Francisco Cerundolo set the final
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday, July 16, 2022
Sebastian Baez and Francisco Cerundolo have a lot in common nowadays. Apart from the obvious – they are both natives of Buenos Aires – they also follow the same path to the top of the men’s game.
Both have come outside the Top-100 at the beginning of the season to well into the Top-50, both won their first Top-10 wins this week in Båstad, and both will bid for the title on Sunday in the Nordea Open for a week that has seen them take out the tournament’s two best seeds via the tag team method.
Baez, who beat second-seeded Andrey Rublev on Saturday, 6-2, 6-4, will bid for his second title of the season. He won the trophy in Estoril early this season and also reached the final in Santiago. He had only three ATP wins before 2022, but improved his record to 25-16 compared to the year with his win over Russia.
Cerundolo had five wins to his name before the start of the season and on Saturday he took his 16th of the year with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over fourth-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta from Spain.
Cerundolo, who defeated top-seeded Casper Ruud, world number 5, in the second round, will bid for his first ATP title on Sunday.
No matter what happens, the winner will be from Argentina, and both will have a lot to be proud of.