Djere wins rollercoaster Chile Open final to snap Baez win-streak

Serb Laslo Djere won the Chile Open final by edging out Argentinian Sebastian Baez, the No 3 seed, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in Santiago de Chile on Sunday night.

The title is Djere’s third overall and first in almost five years, taking the Serbian back inside the world’s top 100 to No 74 in the world.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Djere said after the match. “It’s not often that you can win a tournament, at least for me. So, it means a lot to me.

“It was a huge fight. I think we both didn’t play our best, tennis-wise. But, we gave you everything that we have in ourselves.”

Breaks of serve define up-and-down final

It was a topsy-turvy affair to decide the championship in Chile, with Baez riding an eight-match win streak but clearly below his best on Sunday.

The two-hour, 25-minute match saw nine breaks of serve, including four in a row in the deciding set as both players struggled to produce their best tennis.

However, the decisive moment came when Djere got a free look at Baez’s serve ahead 6-5 in the third, breaking the defending champion to win the match.

In the previous rounds of the Santiago tournament, Djere, ranked No 103, beat Peruvian wildcard Ignacio Buse (6-3, 6-4), Spaniard Pedro Martinez Portero, the No 4 seed (6-1, 6-4), Portuguese Jaime Faria (7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4) and Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, the top seed (6-1, 4-6, 6-3).

Baez, ranked No 31, defeated Francisco Comesana (6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (5)), Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (6-4, 6-4) and Camilo Ugo Carabelli (6-1, 3-6, 6-2) earlier in the tournament.