US Open: Carlos Alcaraz through, drops set to Australian of Chinese heritage Li Tu
Born to Chinese parents who immigrated to Australia, Li, took the second set but the Spaniard ultimately ran out 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 winner
Carlos Alcaraz overcame Australia’s Li Tu, making it 15 straight grand slam matches won, to kick off his bid to win a second US Open.
Li, born to Chinese parents who migrated to Australia, took the second set but the Spaniard ultimately ran out 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 winner.
Alcaraz, 21, is bidding to become only the third man to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year in the open era, following in the footsteps of Rod Laver (1969) and Rafael Nadal (2010).
A winner at Flushing Meadows in 2022 and seeking his fourth grand slam, he was given a scare in the opening round.
“Obviously he surprised me a little bit,” Alcaraz said in an on-court interview with Nick Kyrgios, who is working at Flushing Meadows as an analyst. “He started the match a little nervous but after the first set he grew up, he started to play great tennis.
“Now I’m going to follow him and his results because I’m pretty sure I’m going to be seeing him around very, very soon.”