ATP Tour

Baez upsets Shelton, pulls double duty to reach Auckland final

Can anyone stop Sebastian Baez in 2026? The Argentine maintained his perfect start to the new season on Friday at the ASB Classic, where he pulled double duty to reach the final in Auckland.

After rain suspended play early on Thursday, Baez returned to court against top seed Ben Shelton leading 7-5, 0-1. Upon resumption, the 25-year-old broke the World No. 8’s serve again and then held his nerve to seal his third Top 10 win and second of the season, having beaten Taylor Fritz at the United Cup last week.

Baez then returned to court shortly after and dispatched Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-4 to move to 7-0 in 2026. Baez now leads the American 3-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and is up three spots to No. 36 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Into his 12th tour-level final, Baez will compete for his eighth title and second on a hard court when he takes on third seed Jakub Mensik in the final.

Mensik also pulled double duty on Friday at the ATP 250 to advance to his third ATP Tour title match and first since he defeated Novak Djokovic in the Miami championship showdown last March.

The 20-year-old Czech moved past big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-2, breaking the World No. 63 five times, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Mensik then earned a semi-final win against Fabian Marozsan, who dispatched Eliot Spizzirri 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in his delayed quarter-final earlier on Friday.

In a hard-fought clash, Mensik overcame Hungarian Marozsan 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-1, saving five set points in the first-set tie-break. The World No. 18 Mensik is aiming to become the first Czech player to lift the trophy at the event since Jiri Vesely in 2015.