Báez falls to Harris, out of the US Open and still struggling | OneFootball

Sebastián Báez (39th) is not improving. He can't win in the Grand Slams, as if it were an almost impossible barrier to overcome. Despite constantly seeking solutions, he can't find the formula to succeed in these types of tournaments. This Monday, he fell in the first round for the fourth consecutive time in a Major: it was against Lloyd Harris (353rd) by 6-3, 7-5, and 6-4, in the US Open debut.

On Court 7 at Flushing Meadows, Sebastián Gutiérrez's protégé tried in every possible way: he started strong from the baseline, tried to block his opponent's rapid serves, and sought to take the initiative. However, he did not capitalize on the break opportunities he had in the seventh game of the initial set and, from then on, lost six consecutive games.

In the blink of an eye, he was already at a two-break disadvantage in the second set with the first set lost. At that moment, however, he managed to reset: he started playing more freely, as if he had nothing to lose, and punished an opponent who started with doubts, stringing together four consecutive games. He even had chances to level the match. However, he couldn't maintain his aggressive decision, lost many points when his first serve didn't go in (winning only 29% with the second serve), and found himself 0-2 on the scoreboard.

There was no room for error: it was all or nothing. And despite starting with a break, he quickly lost the advantage and, from then on, could not regain the lead. Harris, moreover, added more winners (23 winning shots) than errors in the decisive stretch and tilted the scoreboard in his favor.

With this loss, Báez couldn't break the bad streak at the start of Grand Slams: he accumulated his 16th defeat in 25 matches and the fourth consecutive in debuts. Furthermore, he will lose 40 points in the ranking and could drop out of the Top 40 in the next update, in two weeks.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.