Sebastián Báez tried to counter Kyrgios’ power with his quality. Photo: Paul Chiasson / AP
He stood up and received a couple of ovations on top of that. The complicated debut defeat that Sebastián Báez had in the Canadian Masters 1000 against Australian Nick Kyrgios left some gems that earned the Buenos Aires native recognition: as a tweener who raised the audience on the center court of the Canadian complex.
That technical gesture, which consists of hitting the ball between the legs, from the front and overtaking, left the Australian giant perplexed, who struggled for an hour and 26 minutes to be able to overtake the Buenos Aires player.
Kyrgios, who had just won the Washington tournament on Sunday, closed the Buenos Aires player with a double 6-4 and will now face Russian Daniil Medvedev, number 1 in the world rankings and first favorite, at a crossroads to rent balconies.
With his powerful serve, the Australian dominated with six aces and also took advantage of his rival’s 14 unforced errors, beyond those distinctive touches that the Argentine had.
The Wimbledon 2022 runner-up showed his best game as he did this year, in which he added good performances at the Masters 1000 level, such as when he took a set from unbeatable Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals at Indian Wells and reached the round of 16 later in Miami.
For his part, the young Argentinian has played three finals on the ATP circuit this year with a record of 1-2, but has not yet made an impact in the Masters 1000 events. He has failed to win a game in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo, and in Rome he barely managed to get a victory.
Other results for Tuesday at the Montreal Masters 1000:
First round
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL / N.15) defeated Alexis Galarneau (CAN) 6-4, 7-5 Adrian Mannarino (FRA) on Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) 6-3, 6-3 Pablo Carreño (ESP) on Matteo Berrettini ( ITA /N.11) 6-3, 6-2 Maxime Cressy (USA) for Aslan Karatsev (RUS) 6-4, 6-4 Marin Cilic (CRO / N.13) for Borna Coric (CRO) 6-3, 6 -2 Tommy Paul (USA) on Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 6-4, 6-4 Nick Kyrgios (AUS) on Sebastián Báez (ARG) 6-4, 6-4 Alex De Minaur (AUS) on Denis Shapovalov (CAN )) 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) Roberto Bautista (ESP / N.14) to Marcos Girón (USA) 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 Gael Monfils (FRA / N.17) to Pedro Martínez (ESP) 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-2 Jack Draper (GBR) and Hugo Gaston (FRA) 6-2, 6-3 Daniel Evans (GBR) and Filip Krajinovic (SRB) ) 6-2, 1-6, 6-0
Source: Clarin
