For once, there’s no rush for Báez!

Usually the Argentine can’t wait for the Golden Swing to scrape up some points and have a blast on court, but given his blistering start to the season on hard courts, I’d say he’s bought himself some breathing room!

What can we say about Baez’s start to the season? It’s surprising! He’s surprised everyone by beating genuinely strong hard-court players and showing a really convincing level of play, a bit better suited than usual to fast surfaces. He has deliberately changed some things in his game: he wants to be more active from the baseline and no longer hesitates to come forward and finish at the net as well. You can compare his adjustments to Munar’s in my opinion: they both keep huge solidity from the back while adding a bit more aggressiveness. The signs have never been this positive before starting a tournament, it would still be surprising to see him completely slip up here. On clay he’s a top player and he’ll again be in the mix for titles during this Golden Swing.

Let’s start with this first round against Buse: the Peruvian is a miracle survivor from the opening round! He was down 7–5, 5–1 with a double break against Passaro and never gave up mentally, managing to turn the match around. He was rusty, it was his first singles match of the year and he was also coming back from Germany because of the Davis Cup. Let me remind you he’s got huge potential: he serves well and hits hard, he’s a clay-courter who wants to hurt his opponents. He’s a good player, young and talented, but his timing doesn’t seem to be at its peak; knocking out Baez would be a massive upset.