For the third year in a row the defending champion of the Rio Open presented by Claro secured a place at the semifinals of the ATP 500 at Jockey Club Brasileiro.
Sebastian Baez needed one hour and 35 minutes to defeat qualifier Chun-sin Tseng in two sets (6/4 and 6/1) and advance to an all-Argentinian semifinal in Rio. He will now face lucky loser Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the hopes of continuing his eight-match winning streak _five of those were against Argentinians. Their match start at 5pm, local time, at Court Guga Kuerten.
“I'm happy with the way I played today, much better than in the previous matches. I felt good on court and I’m very motivated for the next one”, said Baez. “Of course we’ve known each other since we were kids, he’s confident and it’s a rematch from last year’s first round in Buenos Aires. Hopefully I can repeat the win."
Baez joins Carlos Alcaraz (in 2023) and Cameron Norrie (in 2024) to reach the semis in Rio as the reigning champion. This is his 12th ATP Tour semifinal, the seventh in South America. It is also his third ATP 500 level semifinal.
Carabelli reached his first ever ATP semifinal and became the eighth lucky loser to go this far in a 500 event since 2009 after defeating Portuguese Jaime Faria, also a lucky loser, by 7/6 and 6/4 in almost two hours.
“I could never imagine to get to the semis here. I thought I could win a couple of matches, maybe make it through qualifying but here I am. I was lucky with the draw but at the end of the day you have to win your matches. I was super nervous today but I think I managed to play better than Jaime.”
As for the match against Baez, Carabelli hopes for a better outcome than last week in Buenos Aires when we lost in two sets.
“I'm sure it will be a tough one, the toughest one so far in Rio. I think anything can happen, I have to take every chance I get and I hope this can be an unforgettable match”, said the 25-year-old.
ORDER OF PLAY - SATURDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 2025
Quadra Guga Kuerten - start 17:00
Starts At 17:00
[5] Sebastian Baez (ARG) vs [LL] Camilo Ugo Carabelli (ARG)
[1] Alexander Zverev (GER) or Francisco Comesana (ARG) vs [4] Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) or Alexandre Muller (FRA)
Not Before 20:00
Doubles Final - [1] Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Andres Molteni (ARG) or Pedro Martinez (ESP) / Jaume Munar (ESP) vs Rafael Matos (BRA) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) or Luciano Darderi (ITA) / Mariano Navone (ARG)
Sebastian Baez needed one hour and 35 minutes to defeat qualifier Chun-sin Tseng in two sets (6/4 and 6/1) and advance to an all-Argentinian semifinal in Rio. He will now face lucky loser Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the hopes of continuing his eight-match winning streak _five of those were against Argentinians. Their match start at 5pm, local time, at Court Guga Kuerten.
“I'm happy with the way I played today, much better than in the previous matches. I felt good on court and I’m very motivated for the next one”, said Baez. “Of course we’ve known each other since we were kids, he’s confident and it’s a rematch from last year’s first round in Buenos Aires. Hopefully I can repeat the win."
Baez joins Carlos Alcaraz (in 2023) and Cameron Norrie (in 2024) to reach the semis in Rio as the reigning champion. This is his 12th ATP Tour semifinal, the seventh in South America. It is also his third ATP 500 level semifinal.
Carabelli reached his first ever ATP semifinal and became the eighth lucky loser to go this far in a 500 event since 2009 after defeating Portuguese Jaime Faria, also a lucky loser, by 7/6 and 6/4 in almost two hours.
“I could never imagine to get to the semis here. I thought I could win a couple of matches, maybe make it through qualifying but here I am. I was lucky with the draw but at the end of the day you have to win your matches. I was super nervous today but I think I managed to play better than Jaime.”
As for the match against Baez, Carabelli hopes for a better outcome than last week in Buenos Aires when we lost in two sets.
“I'm sure it will be a tough one, the toughest one so far in Rio. I think anything can happen, I have to take every chance I get and I hope this can be an unforgettable match”, said the 25-year-old.
ORDER OF PLAY - SATURDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 2025
Quadra Guga Kuerten - start 17:00
Starts At 17:00
[5] Sebastian Baez (ARG) vs [LL] Camilo Ugo Carabelli (ARG)
[1] Alexander Zverev (GER) or Francisco Comesana (ARG) vs [4] Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) or Alexandre Muller (FRA)
Not Before 20:00
Doubles Final - [1] Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Andres Molteni (ARG) or Pedro Martinez (ESP) / Jaume Munar (ESP) vs Rafael Matos (BRA) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) or Luciano Darderi (ITA) / Mariano Navone (ARG)
