Sebastian Baez Continues Impressive Run at US Open, Sets Up Clash with Daniil Medvedev

For the first time in his career, Sebastian Baez He is in the third wheel of a Grand Slam. The player born in the San Martín match gave another successful step at the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the season. And, furthermore, he had a good moment in terms of numbers, since he accumulates 12 wins in a rowafter his victories in the Kitzbühel (brick dust) and Winston Salem (concrete) tournaments.

On field 10 of Flushing Meadows, Báez defeated Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 6-4, and retired his opponent, after two and a half hours of play. His next will be the Russian Daniil Medvedev, champion here in 2021, who left Australian Christopher O’Connell on the road 6-2, 6-2, 6-7 (6-8) and 6-2. And he was the last Argentine in action in the singles, after the defeat -also this Thursday- of Tomás Martín Etcheverry from La Plata.

Báez lost the first set against Meligeni Alves, but managed to pull himself together AL BELLO – GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

Facing Meligeni Alves, the Argentine suffered some difficulties in the first set, when he blew a 2-5 lead and had to be treated for a bloody nose. The set escaped him in the tiebreaker, but he returned to match the game at the same time that the Brazilian, 170th in the world and who had entered the contest from the qualy, began to suffer physical problems that led him to retire at the end of the third set.

“I knew it was going to be a difficult match, it got a little too complicated. It’s a shame for Feli (Meligeni Alves) who had been having a good tournament, that she was playing well. It’s not good to win like this, especially against someone I’ve known since he was very young, so I hope the injury isn’t serious. At the end of the first set there were a few more nerves, sometimes it happens and you have to live with it, you can’t always play the way you want or feel the way you want, but I’m happy to have gone on to another round”, considered Báez, in statements to ESPN.

The Buenos Aires native stressed that he was not discouraged after losing the first set in a very tight way: “This is a Grand Slam. There are five sets and winning the first set does not guarantee anything, I knew it the previous round and now too, and I was close to winning it. I knew that I had to continue like this, always giving my best, and that is what pays off in the end, playing well or badly. Afterwards, the one who goes to sleep knowing if he gave it his all or not, is me. Happy to be alive in a Grand Slam that I really like and knowing that I still have a lot to improve”.

Báez, ranked 32nd in the ATP world ranking, emerged victorious due to a muscle injury in his right leg suffered by Meligeni Alves. Champion this year in three tournaments, the Córdoba Open, Kitzbühel and Winston Salem, he will continue his path next Saturday, when he seeks a ticket to the round of 16. It will be Báez’s first confrontation with the Russian Medvedev, who occupies third place in the world ranking.

Báez will seek access to the second week of the US Open if he wins the next match, which will be played this SaturdayAL BELLO – GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

For his part, the man from La Plata Tomas Martin Etcheverry fell to the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka (49th) 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 6-2, in another match for the second round of the United States Open and after 3 hours and 39 minutes of action. Etcheverry, number 34 in the ranking, had just narrowly surpassed the Finn Otto Virtanen (134th), and could not take revenge on Wawrinka, who had already surpassed him a few weeks ago, in the second round of Wimbledon, the previous Grand Slam .

Wawrinka, 38, and 2016 US Open champion, will meet an Italian in the third round: Jannik Sinner (6th), who eliminated his compatriot Lorenzo Sonego (39) in straight sets.

Also on Thursday, the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, current number 1 and defending champion, defeated South African Lloyd Harris (177th), 6-3, 6-1 and 7-6 (7-4). The player from Murcia will face the British Daniel Evans in the third stage, who beat the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in four sets. The Briton who did say goodbye was Andy Murray, winner at Flushing Meadows in 2012, clearly surpassed by the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (19th), who defeated him comfortably 6-3, 6-4 and 6-1. In addition, the Italian Matteo Berrettini suffered a severe ankle sprain due to a fall, and had to retire when he lost to the French Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 5-3.

THE NATION

Conocé The Trust Project
2023-09-01 10:39:00
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