Google News
Sebastian Baez was all happy after a big win over Dominic Thiem in Bastad but he also took a moment to show his respect to the Austrian. On Friday, Baez defeated Thiem 6-2 6-7 (5) 6-4 to progress into the Bastad semifinal.
Thiem, who made his return from a long injury break in late March, is just 2-7 on the main level since returning. Baez missed out on a match point on Thiem's serve in the 10th game of the second set but broke the Austrian midway through the third set and then held on to his serve the rest of the match to clinch a three-set win.
“It was such a tough match. So close,” Baez said in his on-court interview, per the ATP website. “Dominic played well today and I hope to see more of him because he is a great player, so I hope he can return to the level we know.
I am happy I won today and to stay in the tournament. I think we both played well today, I enjoyed the fight. The tournament and the grounds are good, so I am happy to stay here. The people are so nice, I feel comfortable. I now need to recover as best as I can”.
Baez plays Andrey Rublev next
Baez plays next Rublev, who defeated Laslo Djere in the quarterfinal. In the second semifinal, Pablo Carreno Busta will take on Francisco Cerundolo. Carreno Busta was absolutely ruthless on Friday as he destroyed Diego Schwartzman 6-1 6-0.
“I played my match of the season,” Carreno Busta said in his on-court interview. “I was very focused all the time, every point. I tried to be aggressive and controlled the points. I didn’t make many mistakes and it was perfect. It is really good to play like this on court with the full crowd. I just need to continue like this”.