The ATP 250 in Córdoba will have an Argentine finalist
.
Federico Coria
surprised Tomás Etcheverry, third seed, by beating him this Friday 6-3 and 6-4 and will clash this Saturday from 6:00 p.m. in the semifinals against another Rosario native like
Facundo Bagnis , who left the Spanish
Jaume Munar
on the
way 7-5 and 6-4.
Sebastián Báez
will be the other Argentine protagonist of the day, because this Friday he defeated
Facundo Díaz Acosta
with ease to meet the one born in Villa Gesell but naturalized Italian
Luciano Darderi
.
The man from Buenos Aires, who gave Argentina a place in the Davis Cup Finals last weekend, is the defending champion.
Double your pleasure ✌️@sebaabaez7 cruises past Diaz Acosta 6-3 6-1 for his second win of the day & a SF spot in Cordoba.#CordobaOpen pic.twitter.com/SpZHdxUNdo
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 10, 2024
“Córdoba is my place. I get here and I feel in a good mood. I encourage myself to compete against anyone. I don't see the ranking plate
,” said Coria, 93rd in the world.
His background proves it. He will play his
fifth semifinal at the ATP level
this Saturday and three of them were in the tournament being held at the Mario Alberto Kempes Sports Center.
When was the last time he had three wins in a row?
Precisely at the ATP 250 in Córdoba last year, when he had four wins before falling in the final with Báez.
This Friday was one of the best victories of his career due to the quality of Etcheverry, who is one of the main rackets in South American tennis, but also because of the level of play he exhibited.
He was firm from the baseline and dominated the scene for many moments, but he also knew how to suffer and resisted the power of his rival very well.
So he won two hard-fought sets, in one hour and 49 minutes of play.
“I lived it relaxed. When you play against someone with a better ranking it makes you more relaxed. I took advantage of that to my advantage. “I arrived with rhythm and was able to beat Tomy with very few unforced errors
,” he analyzed after his passage to the semifinals.
Etcheverry is in a slump in performance.
After his good performance at the Australian Open, where he beat Andy Murray and Gael Monfils before losing to Novak Djokovic in the third round, his time in South America is below his expectations.
He lost in the Davis Cup to Timofey Skatov (278th) and now said goodbye to Córdoba.
A wild finish to a wild match 😲
Qualifier @facubagnis defeats Munar 7-5 6-4 to reach the semis in Cordoba!#CordobaOpen pic.twitter.com/cEnDt41G2V
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 9, 2024
On the other hand, Bagnis is happy.
By beating Munar at 33 years, 11 months and 11 days, he became the third oldest Argentine tennis player to reach a semifinal of an ATP tournament, after Guillermo Vilas (34 years and 11 months in Prague 1987) and Carlos Berlocq (34 years and 10 days in Buenos Aires 2017).
It is the third semifinal of his career, after those in Córdoba and Viña del Mar in 2021
“It is not easy to go through qualifying and win three games at this level. I am not used to making a semi-final in an ATP and you have to prevent your head from relaxing
,” explained Bagnis.
And he concluded:
“Sometimes the results do not happen and at this age you rethink things.
My colleagues are all quitting and that doesn't help, heh.
Working for the result is the objective and when these things happen you have to enjoy it
. ”