The Chilean crowd–always among the most raucous in tennis–at the Movistar Open will hope to see one of its countrymen crowned for the second consecutive year and for the third time in the last four seasons when Alejandro Tabilo battles Sebastian Baez for the title on Sunday.
Nicolas Jarry triumphed in Santiago 12 months ago, while Cristian Garin got the job done in front of his home fans in 2021. Now it could be Tabilo’s turn following wins this week over Tomas Barrios Vera, Luciano Darderi, and Corentin Moutet.
To say that it won’t be easy would be an understatement. As usual, Baez has been one of the stars of the Golden Swing. The 21st-ranked Argentine owns a 12-2 overall match record during this clay-court stretch and he is coming off the biggest title of his career last week–a 500-pointer in Rio de Janeiro. Baez finds himself in a second straight final after defeating Juan Pablo Varillas, Jaume Munar, and Pedro Martinez.
Sunday marks a rubber match in their head-to-head series, having split two previous encounters. Baez rolled 6-1, 6-0 in 2021 Buenos Aires qualifying before Tabilo prevailed in front of his opponent’s home crowd in Argentina via a 6-1, 7-6(4) decision during Cordoba quarterfinal action one year later.
Will roles be reversed in this one? Playing at home definitely is an advantage, but at the same time it puts more pressure on Tabilo even though Baez is the clear favorite on paper. The Chilean fans are desperate for the trophy to be kept on home soil. Although fatigue may have been a factor for Baez following his Rio de Janeiro exploits, the second seed has mostly cakewalked this week and has won six consecutive sets by scorelines no more competitive than 6-4.
Don’t be surprised if it’s two titles in two weeks for Baez.
Pick: Baez in 3
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Baez just too tough….in 2.