Báez beat Wawrinka, into Monte Carlo Masters second round | OneFootball

Sebastián Báez (ATP No. 65) managed to put an end to his personal curse at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000. After one hour and 47 minutes of play, he defeated Stan Wawrinka (No. 104) 7-5, 7-5, in what was the Swiss player’s final appearance at this event, and earned his first win in five appearances at the tournament.

The Swiss star’s class set the tone from the start of the match, although not for long. Even though he built an important 4-1 lead, he was caught off guard by the Argentine’s response, who from that moment on grew considerably into the match and became the main protagonist of the story, taking a hard-fought first set.

Those positive sensations that the former World No. 18 found carried very clearly into the next set. With precise shots and holding up against the power of the three-time Grand Slam champion, Báez took a comfortable 3-0 lead with two breaks in his favor, frustrating every comeback attempt by Wawrinka, who began to show increasing frustration, though he remained fully engaged in the match.

From that point on, every game was agony for the servers, who began to suffer more than expected to hold serve. Although the advantage for the Argentine was quite considerable, Wawrinka managed to push him to the limit whenever he could in a set that featured seven breaks, made him work for every point, and bowed out with his head held high in his final appearance at the tournament he won in 2014.

Thanks to this convincing victory, the player coached by Sebastián Gutiérrez ended his personal curse in the Principality of Monaco and celebrated for the first time in his fifth appearance at this tournament. Despite feeling more than comfortable on clay, the Argentine had been unable to win in his previous four appearances at the event. He finally managed to do so in 2026 and as a “reward,” he will now get the chance to face none other than Carlos Alcaraz (No. 1) in the second round.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.