Francisco Cerundolo won his maiden ATP title in Bastad, defeating Sebastian Baez 7-6(4) 6-2.
Cerundolo won his first ATP title in Sweden after a straight sets win over compatriot Sebastian Baez in the final.
Cerundolo had already beaten Casper Ruud and Pablo Carreno Busta in the tournament and despite a slow start claimed victory against his fellow Argentinian.
Both players shared breaks to start the match as they showed their returning quality in the early stages of the match.
After a few comfortable holds of serve, it was Baez who had to save four break points as Cerundolo produced some smart consistent returning.
Having passed the test Baez then went on the offensive towards the end of the set as he showed the type of point construction that saw him beat Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals.
Cerundolo was forced to save five break points which he would with high-quality shot-making. Baez forced a tiebreak after saving two set points as the opening set was reaching a tense conclusion.
However it was the Miami Open semi-finalist who stepped his level up a gear as he produced a strong start and end to the tiebreak to take it 7-4.
Cerundolo took the momentum into the second set over a tired-looking Baez, breaking twice to seal the title.
After the match Cerundolo admitted it was an amazing feeling to win his first ATP title, “It feels amazing,” Cerundolo told the ATP website.
“First of all, I want to congratulate Sebastian, not just for this week. You’ve been playing amazing since last year.
“Winning the title means a lot. Since you are a child you imagine yourself playing in these events and finals. When I lost in Buenos Aires I was sad, because I was at home and I lost badly, but I learned a lot from that. I used it today, and I think I played a great match, a great week.”
The Argentinian will now climb to inside the world’s top 30 for the first time in his career.
As for Baez, despite the defeat in the final, the Argentinian won his first match over a top ten player and has a lot to be proud of.
After the match Baez remained upbeat and is looking forward to his next tournament, “I think Francisco was better than me today, so congrats to him and his team too,” Baez said.
“Tennis is one part of life, and I think we have to enjoy it when we lose and when we win. The little things, we have to enjoy every time, so I enjoyed this week and I hope that next week will be better.”
Cerundolo and Baez are both scheduled to compete in Hamburg next week as they face Daniel Altmaier and Filip Krajinovic in the opening round respectively.
