Australian Open 2026: Sebastián Báez wins epic three hour match to push into second round

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 Báez win in the fourth when he got a 5-2 lead. However, it all came crashing down, as the Argentine player lost five games in a row to lose 5-7 and allow the Frenchman a chance to win in the fifth. It was the height of the drama. As he had done in the first couple of sets, Báez took an early lead and physical issues stopped Mpetshi Perricard from forcing his way back. “I had the chance to wrap it up before but I wasn’t able to take it,” the Argentine player told the press after the match. “He did a lot of things right too. I got a break up in the fifth when I didn’t expect it, and I was able to take that chance.” Báez said he was “happy to be able to see through a tough match.” This is the first Grand Slam win for the Buenos Aires Province native since his 2024 US Open first round victory, having gone winless at majors in what was a difficult 2025 for him. Like countryman Tomás Etcheverry, he admitted leaning on the Argentine fans at Australia to push forward. “[The support] was crazy. It’s incredible they’ve come all the way here to support us like this,” he said. “When you’re away from home, you sometimes miss that support a lot, and you don’t always get it at tournaments. I’m very grateful to all the Argentinians who were supporting me today. It’s in difficult moments that you feel the most what it means to represent Argentina.” A good start It’s been an impressive start for Báez in 2026. The former world No.18 went unbeaten while representing Argentina in the 2026 United Cup, where he beat world No.9 Taylor Fritz from the U.S. After that, he reached the Auckland Open final, beating another high-ranking U.S. player in world no.7 Ben Shelton, before getting his first loss of the season against Czech Jabuk Mensik (17). Baez is set to face Argentine-born Italian Luciano Darderi (25) — who beat Chile’s Cristián Garín (82) por 7-6(5), 7-5. 7-6(3) —  for a spot in the third round.  He joins the other Argentines set to play in the second round starting Tuesday.  Thiago Tirante (103), will face off against U.S. player Tommy Paul (20), Tomas Etcheverry (61), will match up against Brit Arthur Fery (185), Francisco Cerúndolo (20), is set to battle Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (66) and Francisco Comesaña (68), will face another U.S. native, Frances Tiafoe (34).