New York | Alcaraz overcomes a wobble to get campaign under way

The first round is always the trickiest for the top players, especially at the majors where so much is at stake for all the entrants, a situation which the lower ranked competitors try hard to take advantage of.

I had to accept that I lost the second set and had to clear my mind, Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed and champion in 2022, found himself under pressure in the early stages of his opening match which opened the second days’ men’s evening play on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Having arrived at Flushing Meadows after losing the Olympics final to rival Novak Djokovic a month ago, a loss which still rankles him, and then losing his opening match in Cincinnati, his preparations could be questioned.

His transition, therefore, to hardcourts from clay in Paris is proving more trickier than expected for the 21-year-old.

The Spaniard didn’t look comfortable and struggled to capitalise on a number of chances which came his way with uncharacteristic errors, but the four-time grand slam champion pulled himself together to make sure his Australian opponent, Li Tu, a qualifier, didn’t cause a major upset.

“I enjoy every single time I play here in New York,” Alcaraz said on court following his 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-1 win. “It is one of the most electric crowds I play in front of. For me, it’s a huge honor to play here once again.”

It started well enough with Alcaraz storming into a 4-0 lead in under 15-minutes, pocketing the first set and breaking early in the second.

It was then that Tu, a 28-year-old former youth tennis coach playing in just his second grand slam main draw match, showed his mettle.

The world No.186 who saved two match points to gain a place in the main draw, fought off four of five break points and turned the tables when he captured Alcaraz’s serve twice to steal the second set.

Tu continued to frustrate Alcaraz in the third as he managed to avoid getting into trouble during the first six games but then, the title favourite finally converted a break point to gain the edge.

He followed that up with easy hold which virtually launched Alcaraz into his usually dominating mould as he found his range, erased his errors and produced the sort of tennis for which he is now renown.

“I had to accept that I lost the second set and had to clear my mind,” Alcaraz, who finished with 50 winners to 30 unforced errors, said in his post-match interview with ESPN.

“I had chances in the second set that I didn’t take, but I knew I was playing well, hitting the ball well. It was a few mistakes, and I tried not to make the same mistakes in the third set than I made in the second set and try to make it harder for him, to push him to the limit and be really focused on every ball.”

Next up for the Spaniard is a potentially tricky second-rounder against Dutchman Botic van De Zandschulp, the 2021 US Open quarterfinalist and former world No. 22, who dispatched 2020 US Open quarterfinalist and former Top-10 player Canada’s Dennis Shapovalov in the opening round 6-4 7-5 6-4.