Báez, seeded fourth, built his victory on the strength he maintained throughout the week, and ended up prevailing 6-4, 6-4, while Coria had a good performance, despite some ups and downs in the second set, and was left with the victory against the current champion by 6-4 and 7-6 (2).
In the match that closed the sweltering Cordoba afternoon, Báez imposed conditions from the start, broke the kickoff and pulled the strings of the match, but the Bolivian’s reaction was also immediate, and he came back from 0-2 to lead 3- 2.
Although Báez returned to the bases after that hot flash, he bet on the long points and thus Dellien fell again and again into his own mistakes, which allowed the Argentine to direct that initial set and define it clearly.
Báez left no doubts in the second set, despite the fact that the opponent did not make it easy for him, because he fought each point with total conviction, recovered a break against in the eighth game, but the walk of the Buenos Aires native was once again solid and maintaining the idea of the game that led him to be among the two best in the tournament and go for the scepter tomorrow.
In the game that opened the semifinal day, Coria beat current champion Ramos Viñolas in a match in which the Argentine tennis player had to battle not only against his rival, but also against the oppressive heat on the field of Polo Deportivo Kempes and with an ailment in his left ankle, which required medical assistance midway through the second set.
In a first sleeve that unevendled only in the tenth and last game with Coria’s serve break, beyond the parity in numbers, the Rosario player always left a better image in each game with his service, which he brought forward without major inconveniences.
The Argentine had it to take the serve out of his rival on a couple of occasions, but he achieved the goal in the final game to keep the initial set.
Already in the second the rhythms and procedures were different, a quick break by Ramos Viñolas seemed to be leading the Iberian to keep that set, but Coria showed character and recovered to put pressure on the Spaniard.
Although a fall and sprained ankle for Coria put him in check with the Spaniard serving at 5-4 to win the set. Although after medical assistance, in which they performed a stirrup on that sore ankle, the Rosario’s tenacity returned, he managed to recover his serve and direct everything to define in a tie-break.
In that definition Coria was vastly superior, he took advantage of the decline in the Spaniard’s performance and with a resounding 7-2 he was left with a set and the match, to quickly go to recover his ankle and rest thinking about the decisive game on Sunday.
The path of the Argentines to reach the final, Báez, who debuted in the second round due to being the fourth seed, prevailed in that instance against the Italian Luciano Darderi (140) by 6-3 and 6-4, and in quarterfinals against Chilean Tomás Barrios Vera (212) 6-1, 3-6 and 6-1.
Coria accounted for the Brazilian Thiago Monteiro (78) 6-7, 6-1 and 6-2, the Italian Marco Cecchinato (93) 6-3, 3-1 and retired and Francisco Cerúndolo (31) 6-3, 3- 0 and withdraw.
Thus, in this fifth edition of the Cordovan Open, Coria or Báez will join the list of winners made up of Juan Ignacio Lóndero (2019), Christian Garín, Chile (2020), Juan Manuel Cerúndolo (2021) and Ramos Viñolas (2022).
The 250 category tournament distributes $642,735 in prizes and is televised by Fox Sports 2.
The doubles contest will be defined tomorrow, prior to the singles game, and the Argentine duo Máximo González-Andrés Molteni will seek to celebrate when they face the French Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.
Source: Ambito
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