Shared coach, but only one winner! Baez tops Comesana in Santiago

Argentine Sebastian Baez began his Movistar Chile Open title defence Thursday by ousting countryman Francisco Comesana, with whom he shares a coach, Sebastian Gutierrez.

Fresh off successfully defending his Rio de Janeiro title, Baez is aiming to match that feat in Santiago, where he survived Comesana 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(5) to reach the quarter-finals.

“It’s always very hard to play with Fran. He’s a great guy, we share our team, so we are together so much,” Baez said during his on-court interview. “It’s always difficult, but I’m happy to be in the next round.”

Red-hot Sebastian 🌶️

The defending champ @sebaabaez7 extends his winning streak, taking down compatriot Comesaña in a great encounter! 🇦🇷@chile_open | #MovistarChileOpen pic.twitter.com/bbVbQrUTlk

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 27, 2025

Baez trailed 3/5 in the deciding-set tie-break before tallying four consecutive points and sealing the victory with a rainbow lob winner. Leading 2/1 in the tie-break, the 24-year-old Baez retrieved a drop shot from Comesana and tumbled, looking up in disbelief after realising that he struck a winner.

A seven-time tour-level champion, Baez is on a six-match winning streak. He has captured a Tour-leading 74 clay-court wins since the start of the 2022 season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Up next for the No. 31 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will be Damir Dzumhur, who overcame sixth seed Mariano Navone 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 after two hours, 36 minutes. The 32-year-old saved seven of the 10 points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. It will be Baez and Dzumhur's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

Federico Coria and Camilo Ugo Carabelli also advanced Thursday to set up one of two all-Argentine quarter-finals, the second being top seed Francisco Cerundolo against fifth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Including Baez, five Argentines are among the last eight in Santiago.

Coria upset second seed Alejandro Tabilo 7-6(11), 4-6, 6-3 to notch his 50th tour-level win on clay (50-46). His 10th win against a Top 30 player in the PIF ATP Rankings earned him his 13th tour-level quarter-final appearance. Chile's Tabilo was again stopped short in his hunt for a home title; a finalist last year in Santiago, he has competed at all six editions of the event. Ugo Carabaelli also needed three sets to move past Thiago Monteiro, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3.