09/03/2024 21:29hs.
Tennis doesn’t give you respite. There is no time to even celebrate. Or, at least, too much. If you do not see the case of Sebastian Baez (19th), who could not spend even a couple of days in Buenos Aires to be with his close friends, after his titles in Rio de Janeiro y Santiago de Chile, given that he had to travel to the Californian desert to contest the Masters 1000 de Indian Wells. And not only did he need to make the transition with the jetlag (there is a five-hour difference), but he also had to get his “chip” out of brick dust. Different movements, different shoes, new tactics, greater preponderance of service and several other topics that he covered in Palm Springs. Even though he did not show the best version of himself, he brought out his competitive gene to beat Fabio Fognini (108th) 7-5 and 6-3 in the second round.
Báez went from youngest to oldest: It was difficult for him to get into the rhythm, he did not find the paths in the first games and he felt the difference in speed with respect to Tano, who is one of the last exponents of classic tennis. Charismatic (for good and bad), Fognini takes his time with the plays, understands variations and angles and avoids the game of pure power right hands. And on court 4 of the giant American venue an interesting match was put together for the spectators who occupied almost all the seats in the stadium despite the heat and high humidity.
The Argentine had the support of some compatriots in the stands. (EFE)
The 23-year-old Billinghurst native moved mainly in the back of the court. Although every time he saw the door open he tried to go and close the points at the net, he looked for a game plan based on long rallies, something that did not happen too much since many times one of the two players ended up throwing the ball. ball out. The thing is that just as there were quite a few winners (15 from the main national racket against 8 from the European), there were also many unforced errors (mainly from the one born in San Remo, who committed 16).
With purple clothes and white sneakers, Báez was seen more active in every way. As if he had given himself more energy after each key point won (he shouted “let’s go” several times). And the pupil of Sebastián Gutiérrez, who did not accompany him on this tour, took off the pressure as the duel progressed and took an important victory to begin to cross out a pending account in this category of tournaments, where he did not do well in 2023.
Seba was more consistent with his backhand than with his drive. (AFP)
How does Báez’s path continue in Indian Wells?
After a rest that he will have this Sunday (the day in which Francisco Cerúndolo will play against Ben Shelton), Seba will take to the court on Monday, probably on one of the main courts, since he will play against the local Taylor Fritz (12th), champion in 2021, which debuted with a hit vs. the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (39th) by 7-6 (2) and 6-2.
2024-03-10 00:29:54
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