He had no choice
.
The result was too cruel with the Buenos Aires player
Sebastián Báez
, but also meritorious with the relentless performance of the Italian
Jannik Sinner
, who confirmed his great moment to advance to the fourth round of the
Australian Open
after barely allowing
the Argentine to take four games from him
.
The triumph of the European, fourth in the ATP world ranking, was with partials of 6-0, 6-1 and 6-3 in one hour and 52 minutes of play.
How do we explain that Báez is not playing badly despite the score?
Here is a small sample.
👏#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/WjdLo6W0EF
— ESPN Tennis (@ESPNtenis) January 19, 2024
There is only one Argentine left in the singles draw and it is
Tomás Martín Etcheverry
, who around 5:00 in the morning on Friday will have the tough mission of facing the number 1 in the ranking, the Serbian
Novak Djokovic
.
After starting 2024 with two defeats in the first round, it was a gift for Báez to achieve two consecutive wins that allowed him to equal his best result in a Grand Slam (third round at the 2023 US Open).
The 23-year-old from Buenos Aires maintained his negative record when he faced rivals who were within the Top Ten of the world ranking.
He could only win once in 14 matches: it was against Rublev (8th) in Bastad 2022.
The Argentine will now focus on his return to the Davis Cup, when he joins the team that will host Lithuania in Rosario
,
seeking to take the first step towards the 2024 Finals. Etcheverry and Francisco Cerúndolo are the other singles players mentioned by captain Guillermo Coria.