Alex de Minaur, Australia’s top-ranked men’s tennis player, successfully launched his US Open journey with a straight-sets triumph over Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri. Ranked seventh, de Minaur secured a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory, a match that faced initial delays and was further disrupted by a two-hour rain interruption. His next challenge will be against Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp in the tournament’s second round.
De Minaur demonstrated dominance by breaking Guerrieri’s serve twice per set, conceding his own serve only once throughout the match, which concluded in under two hours of play. This win came amidst a challenging schedule, as persistent rain in New York has led to a backlog of matches. Consequently, de Minaur might need to play three matches in as many days as he pursues a deep run in the competition.
On the women’s side, Australian Maya Joint put up a strong fight against ninth seed Elina Svitolina but ultimately fell 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-4. Despite the loss, Joint made her mark as the first Australian woman to claim a set from a top-10 opponent at this year’s tournament.
Elsewhere, Daria Kasatkina was eliminated after a defeat to Spain’s Paula Badosa. Taylah Preston also exited the tournament following a 6-1, 6-1 loss to American Taylor Townsend. Kim Birrell faced a similar fate, being ousted by Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova with a scoreline of 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.