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

Sebastián Báez (39th) couldn't lift off. He can't win in Grand Slams, as if it were an almost insurmountable barrier. Despite constantly seeking solutions, he can't find the formula to move forward in this class of tournaments. This Monday, he fell again in the first round for the fourth consecutive time in a Major: it was against Lloyd Harris (353rd) 6-3, 7-5, and 6-4, in the US Open debut.

On Flushing Meadows' Court 7, Sebastián Gutiérrez's pupil tried every possible way: he started firmly from the back, tried to block his rival's extremely fast serves, and sought to take the initiative. However, he didn't take advantage of 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 two breaks behind in the second set and the first set was lost. However, at that moment, he managed to reset: he started playing more freely, as if he had nothing to lose, and punished a rival who started with doubts, stringing together four consecutive games. He even had chances to tie the match. However, he couldn't sustain his aggressive decision, lost many points when his first serve didn't come in (he only won 29% with the second serve), and fell 0-2 behind.

There was no room for error: it was all or nothing. And despite breaking at the start, he quickly lost the advantage and, from then on, couldn't regain the lead. Harris, meanwhile, added more winners (23 winning shots) than errors in the decisive stretch and tilted the score in his favor.

With this loss, Báez couldn't cut his bad streak in Grand Slam starts: he accumulated his 16th loss in 25 matches and his fourth consecutive in debuts. Similarly, he will lose 40 points in the ranking and could fall 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.