The semifinals of the Argentina Open will take place this Saturday and will feature a strong Argentine presence, as local players Francisco Cerúndolo (1st), Sebastián Báez (4th), and Tomás Etcheverry (7th) have secured spots in this stage, while Italian Luciano Darderi (2nd) will look to spoil their party. In the first match, starting at 16:00, Cerúndolo will face Etcheverry in a highly anticipated all-Argentine clash. Cerúndolo came into the match with a solid win over Czech Vit Kopriva in the quarterfinals, while Etcheverry had a tough time defeating his compatriot Román Burruchaga and Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in his recent appearances. This will be the fifth encounter between them, including ATP and Grand Slam matches. However, he lost in the second round of the Australian Open to Darderi, so this match could serve as a form of revenge. The head-to-head history between Báez and Darderi shows great parity, with two wins each (Etcheverry triumphed in Santiago 2023 and at the US Open 2024, while Cerúndolo won in Santiago and Canada 2025). Later, not before 18:00, another interesting match will take place when Báez faces Darderi. Both players have known each other since childhood; although Darderi holds Italian nationality, he was actually born in Argentina and only changed his nationality due to the advantages offered by the Italian Tennis Federation. Báez had a great start to the season, with excellent results in the ATP Cup and the ATP 250 in Auckland, reaching the final in the latter. According to information gathered by the Argentine News Agency, if Báez wins, there will be local players in the final of the Argentina Open for the first time since 2021, when Diego Schwartzman defeated Francisco Cerúndolo in the decisive match.
