Argentine tennis star Sebastián Báez (ranked 36 in ATP singles) beat Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (61) on Monday, taking the total number of Argentines that made it to the 2026 Australian Open second round to five.

The two battled for over three hours in the scorching Melbourne summer sun, as Báez took the win 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 and stretched his record for the year to eight wins and just one defeat.

The duel was set up to be a grind for Báez, with Mpetshi Perricard being one of the ATP’s top servers, as his 246 km/h 2025 record as the second fastest serve in Wimbledon history shows. However, the Argentine player broke the Frenchman’s serve early both in the first and second sets and raced to a two sets to none lead. 

The world no.61 rallied in the third set, but it all looked set for a........

© Buenos Aires Herald