Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Alex de Minaur had to wait until the fourth day of the US Open to play his first match. Fifty minutes later, he was off court again.
New York’s wet weather continues to wreak havoc with the tournament’s first week as Australia’s world No.7, who was supposed to start his campaign on Wednesday (AEST), endured another rain delay before returning to blitz Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
De Minaur broke Guerrieri – playing his first grand slam main draw match at age 27 – in the first game of each of the first two sets and appeared poised for a quick passage to the second round until weather intervened.
He led 6-2, 4-2 when the chair umpire suspended play, with the delay lasting about two hours before he joined fellow Australians Dane Sweeny, Tristan Schoolkate, Taylah Preston, Kim Birrell, Maya Joint, Alexei Popyrin and James Duckworth as a first-round winner.
De Minaur needed only 99 minutes either side of the latest rain disruption to demolish his left-handed rival, looking sharp with his ball-striking and movement from the outset, albeit with a slight detour in the third set.
With the finish line in sight, the three-time US Open quarter-finalist threw in a sloppy service game that he lost to love when trying to push 4-2 ahead. He also slipped 0-30 behind his next time with the Wilson balls before getting back on track to complete his victory.
“These tournaments, it’s all about adapting – and that’s the name of the game,” de Minaur said.
“There’s too much to play for to let something like this affect you, so I’m glad [about how] I handled it. I’m glad I got in and out, played a relatively clean match, and now I can focus on the next one.
“Because of the rain, there’s nothing you can do about it. You’ve just got to get out there, play your tennis match and, ultimately, if you win enough matches, you’re going to get out on the stadium court. So that’s the mindset.”
But it was a tough day for de Minaur’s fellow Australians despite gallant performances from Joint and Birrell against seeded opponents.
Joint, who spoiled Serena Williams’ much-anticipated singles comeback at Wimbledon, took a set off a top-10 foe for the first time, but could not sustain her hard-hitting onslaught as she fell 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 to four-time major semi-finalist Elina Svitolina.
The 20-year-old had an extended form slump this year, but produced spectacular tennis at times against the No.9 seed, particularly in the second set – which she twice led by a break – and still looks the country’s best prospect.
Joint was ranked inside the top 30 in February before losing 13 of 14 matches, including 10 in a row, but has righted the ship.
Birrell, 28, staged a mid-match fightback against No.18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova to force a third set, but a double fault on the first point led to her immediately handing the initiative to her Russian rival before eventually going down 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.
Three other compatriots were far less competitive.
Twenty-year-old wildcard Preston was trounced 6-1, 6-1 in 48 minutes by American Taylor Townsend in her second-round match, hitting only two winners compared to 28 unforced errors, while veteran James Duckworth lost 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 to China’s Wu Yibing.
Daria Kasatkina is also out, losing her rain-interrupted first-round clash with Spain’s former world No.2 Paula Badosa that was carried over from the previous day.
Badosa was only two points from victory when the match was paused, and had to stave off two break-back points before clinching a 6-1, 5-4 win on her ninth match point to lock in a showdown with 2024 champion Coco Gauff.
Pushed out to Flushing Meadows’ back blocks on court 11, after originally being scheduled on the bigger Grandstand stadium a day earlier, de Minaur did not have the fortune of playing on one of the event’s two courts with a retractable roof.
The challenges for de Minaur rise steeply from here – beginning in the second round with dangerous Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, who advanced in straight sets against Brit Jan Choinski.
Van de Zandschulp famously upset Carlos Alcaraz in the second round at the US Open two years ago.
De Minaur’s projected rivals beyond that are 31st seed Zizou Bergs (third round) and top seed Alexander Zverev (quarter-finals), who needed almost five hours to battle past Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in the first round.
However, his potential path was made somewhat easier when possible fourth-round opponent, in-form No.12 seed Rafael Jodar, suffered a shock 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 loss to lucky loser Bu Yunchaokete, who entered the draw when Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew with an ankle issue.
After a brilliant start to the season, including a second straight Australian Open quarter-final and winning the Rotterdam title, de Minaur has relatively struggled, at least by his lofty standards.
He will hope to return to at least the last eight again in New York after losing in the third and fourth rounds at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, respectively.
World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev, Marta Kostyuk, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Americans Jessica Pegula, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Iva Jovic were among the big names to make the round of 32.
Carlos Alcaraz’s comeback is also gathering steam, ousting Portugal’s Jaime Faria 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2.
With AAP
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
