P SOnly four players remain in contention for the 2023 ATP Santiago Open title. It promises to be an entertaining day of semifinal action in the Chilean capital, with both matches potentially enthralling encounters and, as always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for both semifinals. But who will reach Sunday’s final?
ATP Santiago Semifinal Predictions
Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Sebastian Baez
Head-to-head: Baez 3-2 Etcheverry
This Golden Swing was a great chance for Tomas Martin Etcheverry to break away from that fringe ATP/Challenger level he had been at for a while now. Has he taken the opportunity? Yes and no, but a quarterfinal showing in Buenos Aires and the semifinal here at the ATP Santiago Open are already the best two main tour results of his career. Trying to stop him from making his first ATP Tour final will be Sebastian Baez, who won the ATP 250 in Cordoba last month. The Argentinian hasn’t exactly kept that form going since, blowing a 6-3 5-3 lead against Dusan Lajovic and losing to Nicolas Jarry in the quarterfinals at Rio.
The 22-year-old managed to put in a couple of great showings in his first two matches this week though. Baez and Etcheverry met on the ITF circuit four times in 2019, before facing each other once more in Lyon last year. It was the younger of the Argentinians who claimed that last encounter, giving his countryman just three games. It’s unlikely to be this easy again, but if Baez can keep up his level from matches against Laslo Djere and Cristian Garin, it should give him the win coupled with his more experience at this stage of ATP events.
Prediction: Baez in 3
Nicolas Jarry vs Jaume Munar
Head-to-head: Jarry 1-1 Munar
Nicolas Jarry lost to Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves in the qualifying at Buenos Aires last month, but suddenly caught some absolutely incredible form in Rio de Janeiro. He pushed Carlos Alcaraz to three sets and has already managed three wins at the ATP Santiago Open, using the help of the local crowd to the full extent in a couple of tough battles. You could certainly argue that Jaume Munar is never a surprise semifinalist at a clay event, but given the Spaniard’s 1-5 win/loss record in 2023 coming into this week, that’s probably the case this time around.
The 25-year-old survived a messy 7-6 in the 3rd affair with Alejandro Tabilo in the opening round and has improved upon that level tenfold later in the event. They’ve faced each other twice and both matches have been extremely close. In this form and in Chile, it’s hard not to back Jarry right now. The Chilean is always going to serve at a very high level, but the thing is his baseline game has been on fire the past couple of weeks and he’s actually breaking his opponents a lot too at the moment. If he can keep doing that, backed up by the vivacious crowd, he’ll be hard a hard man to stop.
Prediction: Jarry in 3
Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
