Sebastian Baez improved his impressive record on clay in 2025 on Friday when he overcame Francisco Comesana 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals at the Tiriac Open presented by UniCredit Bank.

The Argentine lifted the trophy at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro in February and then advanced to the title match in Santiago. Competing in his second match in Bucharest, Baez won 53 per cent (23/43) of points on Comesana’s second serve and broke serve four times, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to advance after two hours and 20 minutes.

"It was hard because it is always tough to play against a fellow Argentine," Baez said. "I am happy with my level and his level too because he is doing very well. I am happy to be in the next round."

Semis this way? 😏@sebaabaez7 is victorious in the all-🇦🇷 clash against Comesana 7-6(5) 2-6 6-1, booking his spot in the last four in Bucharest!#TiriacOpen pic.twitter.com/HIvs4vCl5U

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 4, 2025

Baez, up two spots to No. 34 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, will next meet defending champion Marton Fucsovics.

Fucsovics lifted the trophy at the ATP 250 last season and continued his love affair with Bucharest by defeating Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-0, 6-4. The 33-year-old Hungarian has won his past eight matches in Romania and is chasing his first title since triumphing at the clay-court event last year.

Flavio Cobolli reached his third tour-level semi-final after moving past Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic 7-6(5), 6-4. The 22-year-old defeated Richard Gasquet in his opening match to snap an eight-match losing streak and will continue his run against Damir Dzumhur.

Dzumhur led second seed Pedro Martinez 6-1, 2-0 when the Spaniard retired with an upper leg injury. The Bosnian advanced to his ninth ATP Tour semi-final (4-4) by picking up his second Top 50 win in as many months.