Carlos Alcaraz progresses to the second round of the US Open with a four-sets win over Australian qualifier Li Tu. Building on a strong streak here with only 21-year-olds, that win took him to a 15th major match-winning streak: 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, against World No. 186.
It is Alcaraz's 60th Grand Slam singles victory in just 70 matches - making him the second-fastest player to reach that milestone in the Open Era. John McEnroe holds that record, having reached 60 wins in 69 matches.
Alcaraz is now aiming to become just the third player in the Open Era ever to win Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year. The ATP notes that Rod Laver and Rafael Nadal are the only two to have pulled off that feat in the past.
It's a potentially tricky second-round encounter for Alcaraz against Botic van De Zandschulp, the former US Open quarterfinalist in 2021 and former No. 22 in the world. The Dutchman did upset Denis Shapovalov, a former Top 10 player and 2020 US Open quarterfinalist.
His lightning start to the set against Tu saw him 4-0 up inside 15 minutes doing the most. Tu, though, began to put up some resistance, saving four out of five break points and then breaking Alcaraz's serve in consecutive games.
"I had to accept that I lost the second set and had to clear my mind and. I think, in the second set, I did have some chances that I did not take, but I knew inside I was playing well, hitting the ball well. "I mean, just a few mistakes, and I tried not to make the same mistakes in the third set that I made in the second set, and really try to make it tough on him, to pretty much push him to the limit, and really focus on every ball," Alcaraz said in the post-match interview with ESPN.
In set three, Alcaraz came out struggling, but so did Tu in attempting to avoid trouble until 3-3, when the favorite cashed in a break chance and then held with little stress. From there, the No. 3 seed began to pull away by hitting a couple of winners and strong forehands to pump up the energy in the New York crowd.
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