Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena battled past an error-riddled Holger Rune 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the first round of the U.S. Open on Monday, handing the fourth seed a shock early exit from the year’s final major.
Carballes Baena was lethal from the baseline and fired off seven aces as his Danish rival struggled to make any form of impact on a muggy afternoon match at Flushing Meadows.
Rune suffered early exits from tune-up events in Toronto and Cincinnati and there were early signs of trouble on Monday as he failed to earn a break point in the first set.
Carballes Baena converted on break point chances in the fifth and ninth games but his serve lost its firepower in the second set, where Rune finally broke in the third game.
The Spaniard, who won in Marrakech earlier this year, cleaned up his act in the third set, where he broke Rune to love in the eighth game, and had clear control over the affair in the fourth set, where he only dropped a single first-serve point.
Carballes Baena broke his opponent’s serve in the third and seventh games and beamed widely after Rune surrendered the match with an unforced forehand error.
“Not satisfied with the result obviously, but also with my tennis,” said Rune, who called on the trainer in the third set after struggling with a left knee problem.
“There is only one way, and it’s to work.”
The Wimbledon and Roland Garros quarter-finalist had been disappointed to see his opening match taking place on Court 5, a comparatively smaller venue at the sprawling Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, but made no excuses for his performance.
“(The better) you get in the ranking, …you should …. play in better conditions,” he told reporters.
“But they didn’t do it with me here. That’s obviously disappointing, but not going to blame the court on the loss.”
Coco Gauff Survives Laura Siegemund
American teenager Coco Gauff battled into the second round of the US Open on Monday with a stormy three-set victory over German veteran Laura Siegemund.
Sixth seed Gauff, seen as one of the favourites for the title after recent tournament wins in Washington and Cincinnati, came from behind to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in an attritional 2hr 50min tussle on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
An ill-tempered match saw Gauff lose her cool with chair umpire Marijana Veljovic in the deciding set, with the 19-year-old accusing the official of failing to enforce time violation rules against Siegemund.
“I don’t care what she’s doing on her serve but on my serve she has to be ready,” Gauff yelled at the umpire. “She’s never ready.”
Tempers then flared again when Siegemund was called for a time violation for the second time at 40-0 down, handing Gauff a 5-1 lead.
Siegemund remonstrated angrily with umpire Veljovic but to no avail.
The 35-year-old Siegemund, ranked 121 in the world, had frustrated Gauff with a superb performance to take the opening set, mixing her play cleverly and attacking the net behind a consistent serve.
The second set began with a remarkable 25-minute game that saw Gauff finally score her first break of the match, converting the eighth break point of the game.
The American then pulled away to win the second set convincingly before racing into a 5-1 lead in the third set.
Siegemund bravely dug deep to claw it back to 5-4 but Gauff held serve to clinch a second round duel with 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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