Sebastián Báez (ranked 32nd) beat Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves (170) on Thursday 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 and walkover to become the last surviving Argentine player in the men’s US Open singles draw. Earlier in the day, Tomás Etcheverry (34) was eliminated after falling to Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka (49) 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 and 6-2.

The 22-year-old Báez claimed the victory after Meligeni dropped out due to a muscle injury in his right leg when the Argentine was ahead two sets to one.

“Winning like this doesn’t feel good, especially against someone I’ve known since we were kids, so I hope the injury isn’t serious,” said Báez after the game. “I stepped on to the court with a full commitment, as I always do. You can win or lose, but after each game I always go to sleep happy with what I did.”

The Argentine is a rising star, having won the Córdoba Open, Kitzbuhel and Winston Salem titles, and has now extended his unbeaten streak to 12 games. He will now meet 3rd-ranked  Daniil Medvedev in the third round.

Etcheverry, on the other hand, couldn’t follow up on his Tuesday five-set win over Finland’s Otto Virtanen and fell to the 38-year-old Wawrinka 6-7, 7-6, 3-6, 2-6.

The other two Argentines who remained in competition, brothers Francisco and Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, lost on Wednesday, falling to Jiri Vesely by 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 y 6-7 and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina by 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 respectively.

The Argentines fared better in the doubles draw, which started on Thursday. Andrés Molteni and Máximo González beat the tandem of Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas and Argentine Pedro Cachín 6-4, 6-2 in the first round, while Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Argentine Horacio Zeballos beat China’s Zhang Zhizhen and Ecuador’s Daniel Elahi Galán 6-4, 6-4.

In other results, current world number one player Carlos Alcaraz beat South African Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-1, 7-6, while Italian Jannick Sinner beat his countryman Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. They will face British Daniel Evans and Swiss Wawrinka on Saturday respectively.

Here are Friday’s games (all scheduled starts are in Argentine time):

Frances Tiafoe (USA) v. Adrian Mannarino (FRA) – Louis Armstrong Stadium – 2:30 p.m.

Novak Djokovic (SER) v. Laslo Djere (SER) – Arthur Ashe Stadium – 9:15 p.m.