Sebastian Baez and Jenson Brooksby will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the third time this year when they clash in round one of the Chengdu Open on Wednesday afternoon.
Both of their previous encounters have gone Baez’s way. He prevailed 7-5, 6-0 at the start of the season in Auckland before getting the job done 6-3, 7-6(8) on the red clay of a Rome in May.
Baez cooled off substantially following a red-hot start to his 2026 campaign, but he is in decent enough form at the moment. The 51st-ranked Argentine has lost in the opening round at just two of last nine events. His hard-court summer featured a runner-up performance at the Cancun Challenger, where he fell to Hubert Hurkacz in three sets.
Brooksby is a horrendous 12-21 at the ATP level this season. The 77th-ranked American kicked off the summer hard-court swing with a quaterfinal showing in Los Cabos, but he arrives in Chengdu with a 2-5 record in his last seven matches.
Although a hard court is more favorable for Brooksby, he has already tried and failed against Baez once on this surface (Auckland). Given that not much has changed for either man since that point in time, the No. 8 seed should be in line for yet another victory in this matchup.
Pick: Baez in 3
WWW?
There’s Ricky again! Nine days felt like a month…
Do you reckon we’ll see a competitive first set in this one?
I’ve snapped up a nice bet for tomorrow: Vukic v Jacquet over 10.5 in the first at 2.75, Royer v Walton 3 sets at 2.25, Bellucci at 2.2 and Duckworth to win at 2.2. A bullseye to bag 1,500.
welp
Yeah Baez in three
Tough game to predict. But I’d go Baez in 3 in those “I’ll never give up” kind og argentinian thrillers
Brooksby wins