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Rising Argentine star Sebastian Baez couldn't hide his happiness and excitement after securing his first Davis Cup victory. On Friday, 21-year-old Baez defeated Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the opening rubber of the Argentina and Czech Republic tie.
Baez, who is enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 62 in the world, finished runner-up in his first ATP final in Santiago last week. Baez is one of the most promising and talented players on the Tour as the Argentinians are hoping the 21-year-old is next big thing from Argentina.
Former world No. 3 Juan Martin del Potro - who led Argentina to their last Davis Cup title in 2016 - retired last month and Baez is now certainly hoping to become the new leader of the Argentinian team and lead them to Davis Cup success.
“Representing my country was a moment I dreamed of when I was a child," Baez said after securing his first victory, per the Davis Cup website. “It was very beautiful to play here at home with all the support of the fans who always motivate me to keep going.
The Davis Cup is something different. The butterflies you get in your stomach are not the same as in other tournaments”.
Baez overcomes Lehecka in straight sets
Lehecka claimed the first break of the match in the eighth game but Baez broke back in the ninth game to stay alive in the first set.
As no more breaks were seen - the first set went into a tie-break - in which Baez took an early 4-0 lead before realizing his second set point to win a tight opener. After winning the first set, Baez dropped his serve in the opening game of the second set but broke back in the following game to level the set at one game apiece.
Baez then claimed the key break in the sixth game and served out for the match in the ninth game. Baez gave Argentina the first point before Diego Schwartzman beat Tomas Machac in the following rubber to lift Argentina to a comfortable 2-0 lead over the Czech Republic.