23/03/2024 19:02hs.
The passage of the Argentines through the Masters 1000 de Miami It is not the most pleasant. In fact, not even the main rackets were able to gain a foothold in the second tournament corresponding to the Sunshine Double. Sebastian Baez (19th), who was coming off a streak of nine wins in a row on the clay of South America where he won two titles (Rio de Janeiro and Santiago), said goodbye in his debut against the German Dominik Koepfer (50th), while that Tomas Etcheverry (30th) could not beat Andy Murray (62nd) and fell 7-6 (0) and 6-3.
Of course, a detailed analysis must be done, given that both meetings were not the same. There were even large differences between the performances of two of the three best national rackets.
Báez did not stand up at any time and completed one of the worst games of his season. He was erratic at the back of the court, had a hard time generating winning shots and was outspeeded by the German left-hander. Furthermore, he did not have the help of his serve, a shot with which he played 73% of the points but in which he barely won 63%. And the statistics are skewed: there were games in which he closed his serve at 0 and others in which he could not avoid the break. So much so that he lost serve four times.
Báez did not play well and lost to Koepfer. (AFP)
The native of Billinghurst, who was not accompanied on the American tour by his coach Sebastián Gutiérrez (he usually stays a few weeks of the year in the country), has not been able to put up a fight since the return. Although he tried to get into the match with a break in the first set, when his rival pressed the accelerator there were no equivalences. Ultimately, he lost 6-3 and 6-2.
On the other hand, Etcheverry made an effort to be in Miami. After missing the tournaments in Rio de Janeiro, Santiago and Indian Wells due to a tear in the semimembranosus of his right leg, he recovered just enough and was present in Miami. And against a warrior like Murray, who did not stop running the court at all points, he found himself with one gear less. He lacked that change of pace to accelerate the ball and be able to close the points sooner. In any case, he anchored himself in his serve and kept the match even, to the point that the first difference occurred only in the tiebreak of the initial set, at which time the Scot made no mistakes and took it without giving up a single spot.
Murray celebrates his second victory in the current edition. (AFP)
Then, Tomy lost serve in the sixth game of the second set, an advantage that he was never able to discount even though he had 0/40 in the last game of the match.
Cerúndolo, the last hope in Miami
Francisco Cerúndolo (21st), quarterfinalist in the last edition, will meet this Saturday (at approximately 8pm, Star+) in the second round against the Austrian Sebastian Ofner (46th). They did not record previous duels. The 25-year-old from Buenos Aires wanted to end the streak and prevent the five Argentines from falling in their respective debuts (Díaz Acosta and Cachín lost in the first instance). The only one who had won was Nadia Podoroska, who said goodbye in the second round vs. Cori Gauff (3rd).
2024-03-23 22:02:31
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