First-Time Winner Spotlight: Sebastian Baez

Sebastian Baez has been steadily rising up the ATP Rankings over the past year, and on Sunday he reached a new career milestone by winning his first ATP Tour title at the Millennium Estoril Open.

The 21-year-old Argentine first broke into the Top 100 last November, when he also competed in the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, and he is now a member of the top 40 following his victory over Frances Tiafoe in the Estoril final. A six-time champion on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2021, Baez made his tour-level breakthrough in his second final. He also reached the title match in Santiago in February.

ATPTour.com sat down with the Buenos Aires native after his run in Estoril to find out more about his life on Tour, on and off the court.

What does it mean to win your first ATP Tour title? It’s been an amazing year. After all the success on the ATP Challenger Tour last year, you reached your first ATP Tour final this year, and gradually progressed to your first trophy.
It’s been a good year. The last year was so nice, too, for the Challengers, for the finals, for the Next Gen [Finals]. A lot of things… the main draw this year in Australia. Every time I try to be better, to go step by step. I hope this is the start of something nice.

At this time last year, you were outside the top 200. Now you are closing in on the top 40 as an ATP Tour titlist. How happy are you with your progress over the past 12 months to reach this point?
I’m so happy, so proud of myself. I’m also proud of my team and my coach because we worked a lot last year and since we met for the very first time. We had a different connection, the most special I’ve ever had. It means a lot to me. This trophy is a nice compensation for all the job and a great motivation to go for more.

You have had a good start to the season after competing at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in November. How important was that event for your development?
That tournament was very important to me because I began to play at a high level with players like Alcaraz and the best teenage tennis players in the world. That meant another compensation after a tough year. I worked a lot to be there. I played Challengers, the matches were very difficult. The rankings were frozen and breaking into the Top 100 was very hard. So Milan was a good start and something different for me.

You have a strong relationship with your coach Sebastian Gutierrez. Can you talk a little bit about your journey and development with him, having joined forces at the Argentine Tennis Association’s Department of Development?
We started working in 2015 in an ITF Futures in Brazil. It was the first time we met, and from then until now, it’s been a great relationship, a great connection, something different on Tour. I think in tennis it’s difficult to find a good person and a great professional as a coach. So I am very proud to have hired him and to have him in my life. I hope to have more time with him and, why not, finish my career with him.

Could you take a moment to acknowledge some of the key figures in your life and career who have helped you to reach this milestone?
My family, my team, my friends, many people… it’s for all of them. It is impossible to be a great player without every person who has helped you along the way. You have to be supported by your family, your team, your people. I am proud to have the best people by my side.

How would you describe yourself off the court? Does your on-court ‘calm’ extend off the tennis court as well? 
It’s impossible to be a good player if you are not a good person. I understand it that way because my coach believes it, and I have learned it from him. That is the path I decided to take.

What do you consider to be your biggest passion outside of tennis? Can you tell us a little bit about that interest?
It’s hard to say because I like music, watching movies, playing video games… but I love playing tennis, travelling the world, and spending time with my people. It’s hard to decide just one thing. But the best thing for me is to try to enjoy the small details.

This is a milestone moment in your career. How will you celebrate this victory?
We are thinking. I must think about it with my team, but I hope we celebrate tonight. This is the plan.