ATP Tour

Baez breaks Kecmanovic duck, wins battle of former champs in Kitzbühel

Sebastian Baez put his tough Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Miomir Kecmanovic to one side on Tuesday to register a hard-earned first-round victory at the Generali Open.

In a contest between two former champions at the clay ATP 250 event in Kitzbühel, Baez prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to notch his first win in four tour-level encounters with Kecmanovic. The 2023 titlist Baez was only able to convert three of 13 break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, but was nonetheless able to complete his triumph over 2020 champion Kecmanovic after one hour and 49 minutes.

“It’s a pleasure to come back because I love this place,” Baez, a former No. 18 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, said in his on-court interview. “I love the people, the crowd, the court, the city, everything… We know each other [well], for many years. I think the key today was to be there every time on all the points and to be focused, because here with the altitude sometimes it is hard to control the ball. I think today I handled it very well, so I’m happy to be in the next round.”

Baez, who defeated home favourite Dominic Thiem to clinch the 2023 crown in the Austrian Alps, will take on third seed Arthur Rinderknech for a spot in this year’s quarter-finals. The 25-year-old Argentine is now 20-16 for the 2026 season, a tally which includes a run to the Auckland championship match in January.

Jan-Lennard Struff also dug deep for a three-set win on Tuesday in Kitzbühel. The German sixth seed, competing for the first time since he reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, edged Aleksandr Shevchenko 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to advance to face Mariano Navone.

Marco Trungelliti and Quentin Halys both kick-started their Kitzbühel campaigns with straight-sets wins. Trungelliti sank eighth seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-2, 6-1 to set a second-round meeting with Yannick Hanfmann, while Halys prevailed 7-6(4), 6-4 against Laslo Djere. Frenchman Halys will take on second seed Valentin Vacherot next.

The final two winners of Day 2 in Kitzbühel were Alex Molcan and Daniel Altmaier. Slovakia’s Molcan spoilt the party for the home fans with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Sebastian Ofner. Awaiting the 28-year-old in the second round will be Altmaier, who eased to a 6-3, 6-2 triumph against seventh seed and last week’s Gstaad finalist Raphael Collignon.