Báez will play the main draw of the US Open for the first time. Photo Paul Chiasson / The Canadian Press via AP
The program of the second day of competitions of the US Open will not give fans respite. From the first matches of the day, including a duel between two talents from Next generation, Sebastian Baez Y Carlos Alcarazgoing through the presentations of two big favorites, Rafael Nadal And Iga Swiatekuntil the debut of Diego Schwartzmann in one of the matches that will close the day, it will be a Tuesday with lots of tennis and great emotions Flushing Mews.
He will be the first of the Argentines to take the field Baezwho will have the pleasure of playing his first career game in the main draw of the American Grand Slam in the legendary Arthur Ashe. The native of Buenos Aires, 37th in the standings, will face in the first round -from the 13th of our country- alcaraz, third favorite. It will be the second duel between the two, after the one played in the semifinals of Next Generation ATP Finals last year, which remained in the hands of the Spaniards.
Báez, 21, is having a great season: he played his first ATP final in February, in Santiago de Chile; he won his first title, in April, in Estoril; he played a decisive instance once again in July, in Bastad, to which he lost Francesco Cerundolo; and reached its best ranking in early August, in 31st place. He will be featured for the fourth time in the main draw of a Principal. He played this year in Australia, Roland Garros and Wimbledon and said goodbye to all three in the second round.
He will have a more than difficult match against Alcaraz, one of the best players of the season. The Spaniard is already fourth in the standings, at just 19, and has a chance (minimal, but finally a chance) of reaching world number one in New York. Winner of four titles this year (Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid), he has just reached the quarter-finals in Cincinnati.
Schwartzmann, seeded 14th, will also face a tough match in the first round. The small will play, in the last round of Louis Armstrong (around 9:30 pm), with the American Jack Sock, an inferior rival on paper, but always difficult on concrete. The only previous duel between the two was for the American: in the opening round of Rome 2017.
Schwartzman, a finalist this year in Buenos Aires and Rio, did not start the second half of 2022 very well: after reaching the second round of Roland Garros, it’s been over two months without winning two games in a row. But last week, in Cincinnatihe recovered the good feelings on the pitch and managed to reach the third round, with victories against alex molcan (39 °) and Aslan Karatsev (38 °). he stopped it Stefanos Tsitsipas, then a finalist. His best historical performances in the “big” North American are the fourths of 2017 and 2019.
Sock, former top 10 and today 108th in ATP, comes from two seasons plagued by injuries that did not allow him to compete regularly and even made him think about retiring. He started this year outside the top 150 and has alternated challenging tournaments with other ATPs. His best result was the third round of Wimbledon, after passing qualy.
Argentine action on Tuesday in New York will be completed with presentations by Federico Coria Y Frederic Delbonis. The two will play the second round, around 13:30.
Rosario, 78th in the standings, will face the Dutchman on his debut Tallon Griekspoor, 46th and this year without outstanding results. Finalist in Bastad 2021, comes from the fall in Swedish Michael Ymer (74th) in the first round of the Winston Salem ATP, the only prep tournament he played for the US Open. If he advances to New York, he will meet Baez or Alcaraz in the second round.
Delbonis, 134th in the world, will precede the American giant John Isner48th, who arrives with a lot of shooting on the hard, after reaching the quarter-finals at the Atlanta ATP and at the Cincinnati Masters 1000.
Azuleño, meanwhile, have not played any tournaments on fast courts ahead of this US Open, although they have just passed through qualifying for the tournament, in which they scored three good wins against the Hungarian. Zsombor Piros (158 °), the American Ethan Quinn (504th) and the Dutch Jesper De Jong (213 °). He has already played seven times on the main draw of the last Grand Slam of the season, although he has never managed to advance beyond the second round, which he reached in 2014 and 2016.
Nadal and Swiatek, the main dishes of the day
Rafael Nadal He will start his way at the US Open as the big favorite to say goodbye to New York with the number one in his possession. The Spaniard, second-seeded in the draw, depends on himself and ensures the top of the standings by also falling in the first round, in which he will play, in the first match of the night section of the Arthur Ashe (at 20), with the Australian Rinky Hijikata198 °.
The Spaniard, who arrives with few shots due to an abdominal injury that forced him to retire before the semifinals of Wimbledon and Cincinnati has made him play alone in recent weeks, he is looking for his 23rd “big” title, to establish himself as the top winner in history, and the fourth on North American hardcourt, where he was crowned for the last time in 2019.
Much earlier, at 12 and in Louis Armstrongwill be presented Iga Swiatek, number one in the women’s ranking. The Pole will face the Italian in the first round Jasmine Pauline56th, in a duel that should be overcome without major problems.
Swiatek – who does not jeopardize his position as leader of the standings (with 8,605 points is over 4,200 ahead of the Estonian Anett Kontaveit, which is second) – had a furious first half, in which he won titles in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and Roland-Garros. She came undefeated at Wimbledon, where she suffered her first 2022 third round defeat to Alize Cornet. Since then, she hasn’t won more than two games in a row.
Owner of two Grand Slams (the first she won in Paris in 2020), she will try to overturn her weak present in New York, where her best result was in last year’s round of 16.
In the matches of the women’s team the debuts of the English also stand out Emma Raducanu11th in the world and reigning champion, who will face the French Alize Cornet; and the Japanese Noemi Osaka44th and champion of the tournament in 2018 and 2020, who will play against the locals Danielle Collins19th seed.
Source: Clarin
