Alexander Zverev congratulated Sebastián Báez after the German victory in the match equivalent to the second round of Roland Garros. (Photo: Dylan Martinez/Reuters)
Sebastián Baez will certainly have a hard time accepting the defeat he suffered on Wednesday against German Alexander Zverev in a duel equivalent to the second round of Roland Garros in which the Argentine had a two -set advantage, he has a match point in fifth chapter and ended in defeat after three hours and 36 minutes of play. However, the child will also keep in his memory box the ovation given to him by the public and the recognition of his rival.
After Báez left the Philippe Chatrier stadium to the applause of those present, including Zverev, the German assigned part of the interview conducted by the triple Roland Garros champion, Swedish Mats Wilander, to say what he said to his loser during the 10 seconds where they talked next to the net after the last point of the duel.
“I told Sebastián: ‘This is the worst thing you can feel about losing a good five -set match.’ And I wish him the best because he is a great player ”, revealed the Teuton, who recalled a similar experience he had to live with:“ I lost the US Open (in 2020) after winning the first two sets in final and after that I won two Masters 1000s (in Madrid and Cincinnati last year) and an Olympic medal (in Tokyo) ”.
To reach the third round of the second Grand Slam of the season for the sixth time in his career, the Hamburg -born player had to overcome a two -set deficit that seemed to condemn him to elimination. “Before, I just tried to fight. You have to always find a way to keep fighting, no matter what happens. Mental hardness is important. For one thing, Roger (Federer), Rafa (Nadal) and Novak (Djokovic) are great. You have to do like them, even if I’m not going to be on that level, ”he said.
The number three in the ATP rankings not only had to come first after leaving the first two sets on the road, but he also had to pick up a match point in the tenth game of the fifth period, when he served 4-5 and 30 -40. At that point, he chose to serve on Báez’s drive, the Argentine’s best shot, which played it a shot to widen.
On his first participation in Roland Garros, Sebastián Báez left Philippe Chatrier’s stadium with applause. (Photo: Martin Divisek / EFE / EPA)
“I thought he was a bit tense and that’s why he took a risk. He did. If he hadn’t just failed, I would have had a hard time, but it happened to me,” explained Zverev, 25, who went 2-6, 4-6. , 6-1, 6-2, 7-5.and from there In this way he achieved his eighth victory in nine five-sets against Roland Garros.
For Báez, born 21 years ago at the Billinghurst (San Martín party) and 36th in the world rankings, this is only his second participation in the main draw of a Grand Slam event. This year, he lost to Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, number four in the ranking, in the second round of the Australian Open.
Source: Clarin
