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Francisco Cerundolo capped a formidable week on the Nordea Open in Bastad with a high-quality straight-sets victory in opposition to countryman Sebastian Baez on Sunday to elevate his maiden ATP Tour title.
Each gamers had showcased loads of clear baseline hitting en path to the ultimate this week in Sweden, but it surely was Cerundolo who raised his degree at key moments on Sunday to safe a 7-6(4), 6-2 championship match triumph on the ATP 250 occasion.
The victory represents one other milestone in a breakthrough season for Cerundolo. The 23-year-old cracked the Prime 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the primary time in February after runs to the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires and the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro, earlier than reaching a maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Miami in March.
Cerundolo’s first ATP Head2Head assembly with the 21-year-old Baez was his second ATP Tour closing, after he fell to a different Argentine, Diego Schwartzman, in his hometown of Buenos Aires in 2021. There have been no indicators of that have hampering Cerundolo on Sunday in Sweden, as he recovered from dropping serve within the opening sport of the match to seal his fourth straight-sets victory in 5 matches this week.
After an early change of breaks within the pair’s first ATP Head2Head assembly, a marathon eleventh sport proved decisive to the result of the opening set in Bastad. Baez’s aggressive method earned him six break factors however Cerundolo held agency to carry. He then opened up a 4/0 lead within the first-set tie-break, happening to clinch an intriguing 74-minute set after a Baez double fault.
The momentum was with Cerundolo and he continued to dictate play together with his large forehand as Baez struggled to regain a foothold within the match. Cerundolo broke twice within the second set, staying stable behind serve earlier than falling to the bottom in ecstasy after wrapping up victory in a single hour, 49 minutes.
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