Aside from the traffic, things tend to move fast in New York, and it did not take long for the US Open to produce its first major shock – if, indeed, Holger Rune’s fourth consecutive tour-level defeat can be described as a shock.
Consigned to the boondocks of Court 5 for his first-round match against Roberto Carballes Baena, a 30-year-old Spaniard ranked 63 in the world, Rune made little attempt to disguise his displeasure. “In case you can[’t] find Court 5, this is where I play my first match Monday,” the Danish fourth seed wrote pointedly on social media at the weekend, alongside a map of the grounds.
In the event, Rune will have been grateful that the latest lowlight of a wretched, injury-hit summer was not given a bigger stage. Struggling with his game and his body, the 20-year-old tumbled to a chastening 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 defeat as Carballes Baena claimed the first top-10 win of his career.
It was the Spaniard’s second victory in three meetings with Rune, Carballes Baena having won in straight sets on the clay courts of Cordoba last year, and the Dane was quick to acknowledge the quality of his opponent, refusing to blame his show-court exile for the defeat even as he elaborated on his bafflement at the decision.
“It’s not difficult, but it’s different,” said Rune. “You’re more close to all the people. It’s a nice atmosphere. So it’s no problem with the court. I just didn’t expect to play on that court.
“[The better] you get in the ranking, the more benefits you should get with playing in better conditions. I think that’s normal way, and it’s also how the ATP do [things] with all the players. But they didn’t do it with me here.
“That’s obviously disappointing, but [I’m] not going to blame the court [for] the loss. He played very, very solid. Credit to him.
“I played probably more matches on outside courts in my life than big courts, so all good.”
Be that as it may, the controversy was clearly a distraction to Rune, who agreed with the suggestion of Peter Bastiansen, a former ATP player turned Danish TV pundit, that the scheduling showed a “lack of respect”. It was not the only distraction he would encounter. Court 5 is situated in the middle of a bank of three courts on the west side of Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the attendant plethora of sights, sounds and smells provides ample opportunity for the focus to wander.
Amid the hustle and bustle, Rune certainly looked as though his mind was elsewhere, occasionally labouring physically and racking up an uncharacteristic 43 unforced errors. A dozen of those came in the first set, where the Dane was broken in the fifth game. More alarming for Rune than the score-line, however, was Carballes Baena’s ability to grasp the nettle in the baseline exchanges. Only in the second set, where the Spaniard’s level dropped, was Rune able to make his signature counter-punching tell. Eleven of Carballes Baena’s 21 unforced errors came in that passage of play, but his resilience was formidable down the stretch, where his error-count dropped to zero.
The past two months have been difficult for Rune. Since a successful grass-court season that brought a first semi-final at Queen’s Club and a maiden Wimbledon quarter-final, the Dane has struggled with a back injury. Beaten by Marcos Giron in his opening match in Toronto, Rune was forced to retire at a set and a break down against Mackenzie McDonald in Cincinnati. Rune’s limited activity and physical difficulties – he received treatment here for a problem with his left knee – have clearly left him well short of his usual sharpness.
“It’s not ideal that I didn’t get more matches coming into this tournament, because the body, it’s hard if you’re not in the rhythm,” said Rune.
It’s also hard if you’re focusing on scheduling decisions over which you have no control, and Rune would do well to take a leaf out of Caroline Wozniacki’s book. Six years ago, his compatriot was also assigned to Court 5 in the opening round only for the weather to intervene, resulting in the match being moved to Court 17. Importantly, though, Wozniacki kept her counsel until after the contest, only taking aim at the original decision following a three-set loss to Ekaterina Makarova. Moral of the story? Play first, complain later.
There were no such problems for the returning Wozniacki this time around, the former world No 1 sweeping past Tatiana Prozorova 6-3, 6-2 to set up an intriguing second-round meeting with Petra Kvitova, the 11th seed and former Wimbledon champion.
Maria Sakkari, seeded eighth, was another early casualty, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Rebeka Masarova, the Spanish world No 71. It was the Greek eighth seed’s third successive defeat in the opening round of a slam, and she cut a distraught figure afterwards, suggesting she may take a period away from the game.
“I just feel like my level was, and has been, poor, and I have to do something about it,” said Sakkari. “It’s very uncertain now, I don’t know what I’m going to do, whether I’ll take a break or not.”