Chile's Nicolas Jarry will meet Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the Movistar Chile Open final after both men earned Saturday victories in Santiago.
A resurgent Jarry advanced to his first ATP Tour final since 2019 with a 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 win against Jaume Munar, becoming the first Chilean to reach the ATP 250 final since Cristian Garin won the 2021 title. The 27-year-old is through to his fourth tour-level title match and will seek his second trophy on Sunday.
"It's amazing to be here in Chile and to be able to play a final," he said. "I can still remember when I was a kid watching this same tournament in Vina del Mar. I used to see Fernando [Gonzalez], Nico [Massu], Marcelo [Rios] in this tournament and now I'm here in the final."
Watch the Santiago final Sunday from 11pm CET/5pm ET
Jarry was able to turn the match around after losing eight straight games to fall behind by a set and a break at 0-2 in the second. With strong support from the Santiago crowd, he surged ahead in set two as improved serving helped him grow into the match. While he could not serve out the second set at 5-4, he won it in a tie-break and then raced to a 5-0 lead in the decider, ultimately clinching victory with a love hold.
"[I was trying] to go point by point, tying to get as much energy in the crowd as possible and for myself," added Jarry, who lost just two points on serve in the final set. He hit nine aces in the two-hour, 37-minute match.
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Each of Jarry's past three matches have gone three sets, including a Wednesday win against fourth seed Diego Schwartzman in a third-set tie-break. The Chilean was playing in his second straight semi-final after coming within two games of beating Carlos Alcaraz last week in Rio de Janeiro.
Earlier in the day, Etcheverry continued his breakout week in Santiago by notching his second Top 50 win in three days at the Movistar Chile Open. In Saturday's semi-finals, the 23-year-old defeated third seed and fellow Argentine Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-3 to advance to his first ATP Tour title match.
"Really I can't believe it," Etcheverry said of the milestone moment. "This is a dream for me, for my family, for my friends, all the people that helped me to reach my goals. This is amazing. Just [will try] to enjoy tomorrow. That's the key for my first final."
Playing in his first tour-level semi-final, Etcheverry did not face a break point. In a tight opening set, the World No. 76 created the first break points of the match at 0/40 with Baez serving to force a tie-break, ultimately securing the set on his fifth set point. Etcheverry needed only one break point in the second, in its fourth game, to claim a decisive advantage.
"It was incredible today. Also like yesterday," said Etcheverry, who lost three games in his Friday quarter-fnal win against Dusan Lajovic. "It was my first semi-final today so I tried to play aggressive, the same like in the other matches. Right now I feel a lot of confidence that I can play like this. Hopefully tomorrow I continue like this because I've been playing at a good level this week."
Etcheverry earned the second Top 50 win of his career against second seed Francisco Cerundolo, another Argentine, on Thursday. Already up 16 places to No. 60 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, he would enter the Top 50 by winning his first ATP Tour trophy on Sunday. No matter the result in the title match, Etcheverry will reach a new career-high on Monday in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
A resurgent Jarry advanced to his first ATP Tour final since 2019 with a 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 win against Jaume Munar, becoming the first Chilean to reach the ATP 250 final since Cristian Garin won the 2021 title. The 27-year-old is through to his fourth tour-level title match and will seek his second trophy on Sunday.
"It's amazing to be here in Chile and to be able to play a final," he said. "I can still remember when I was a kid watching this same tournament in Vina del Mar. I used to see Fernando [Gonzalez], Nico [Massu], Marcelo [Rios] in this tournament and now I'm here in the final."
Watch the Santiago final Sunday from 11pm CET/5pm ET
Jarry was able to turn the match around after losing eight straight games to fall behind by a set and a break at 0-2 in the second. With strong support from the Santiago crowd, he surged ahead in set two as improved serving helped him grow into the match. While he could not serve out the second set at 5-4, he won it in a tie-break and then raced to a 5-0 lead in the decider, ultimately clinching victory with a love hold.
"[I was trying] to go point by point, tying to get as much energy in the crowd as possible and for myself," added Jarry, who lost just two points on serve in the final set. He hit nine aces in the two-hour, 37-minute match.
[ATP APP]
Each of Jarry's past three matches have gone three sets, including a Wednesday win against fourth seed Diego Schwartzman in a third-set tie-break. The Chilean was playing in his second straight semi-final after coming within two games of beating Carlos Alcaraz last week in Rio de Janeiro.
Earlier in the day, Etcheverry continued his breakout week in Santiago by notching his second Top 50 win in three days at the Movistar Chile Open. In Saturday's semi-finals, the 23-year-old defeated third seed and fellow Argentine Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-3 to advance to his first ATP Tour title match.
"Really I can't believe it," Etcheverry said of the milestone moment. "This is a dream for me, for my family, for my friends, all the people that helped me to reach my goals. This is amazing. Just [will try] to enjoy tomorrow. That's the key for my first final."
Playing in his first tour-level semi-final, Etcheverry did not face a break point. In a tight opening set, the World No. 76 created the first break points of the match at 0/40 with Baez serving to force a tie-break, ultimately securing the set on his fifth set point. Etcheverry needed only one break point in the second, in its fourth game, to claim a decisive advantage.
"It was incredible today. Also like yesterday," said Etcheverry, who lost three games in his Friday quarter-fnal win against Dusan Lajovic. "It was my first semi-final today so I tried to play aggressive, the same like in the other matches. Right now I feel a lot of confidence that I can play like this. Hopefully tomorrow I continue like this because I've been playing at a good level this week."
Etcheverry earned the second Top 50 win of his career against second seed Francisco Cerundolo, another Argentine, on Thursday. Already up 16 places to No. 60 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, he would enter the Top 50 by winning his first ATP Tour trophy on Sunday. No matter the result in the title match, Etcheverry will reach a new career-high on Monday in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.