Alex de Minaur finally opened his US Open campaign with a straight-sets win over Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, after a two-hour rain delay on Wednesday. The world No 7 will next face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, ranked 70th, in the second round.
De Minaur overcomes scheduling backlog
De Minaur's tournament opener had already been postponed until day four due to persistent rain in New York. When play finally began, he raced to a 6-2, 4-2 lead in just 49 minutes before another downpour forced a two-hour suspension. Upon returning to court 11, he wrapped up victory in less than an hour of total play.
In a clinical display, De Minaur broke Guerrieri twice in all three sets and only dropped serve once, when serving for the match at 5-2 in the third. The three-time quarter-finalist now faces a scheduling backlog, needing to win seven best-of-five-set matches in 12 days to lift the trophy.
Fellow Australians exit
Taylah Preston's US Open run ended abruptly in the second round with a 6-1, 6-1 loss to American Taylor Townsend. The 20-year-old wildcard, one of five Australians scheduled for day-four action, was eliminated in just 48 minutes.
Daria Kasatkina, the Australian women's No 1, also exited in the first round after a stop-start affair against Spaniard Paula Badosa. The match, halted Wednesday night, resumed with Badosa serving at 5-4 and deuce in the second set. Kasatkina saved three match points in an epic 22-point game and fought off six more before Badosa, a former world No 2, closed out the contest to set up a second-round meeting with 2023 champion Coco Gauff.
Other Australian hopes
Maya Joint takes on ninth seed Elina Svitolina, aiming to reach the third round in New York for a third straight year. Kim Birrell faces Russian 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, believing she can topple her after defeating world No 5 Jessica Pegula at the French Open.
