US Open: Carlos Alcaraz overcomes faltering 2nd set in pursuit of third straight Grand Slam

His first opponent was more combative than expected, but Carlos Alcaraz is in good form at the US Open.

The world No. 3 defeated Australian qualifier Li Tu 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday. He will face Botic van De Zandschulp in the second round on Thursday, after the Dutchman defeated Denis Shapovalov earlier on Tuesday.

Alcaraz looked set for a routine first-round blowout, but then Tu showed a form the Spaniard wasn’t quite ready for. Tu vowed to give Alcaraz “three, four, five sets of hell” before the match and found that form in the second set.

Tu held serve against Alcaraz for part of the third set, but the talent gap was ultimately too great to overcome. ee no first-round opponent had taken a set from Alcaraz in a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2022. Alcaraz did not help his cause with 18 unforced errors in the set.

Tu held serve against Alcaraz for much of the third set, but all it took was Alcaraz to get back on his feet to turn a potential upset into a laugh, winning the next nine games to quash the threat.

Alcaraz is aiming to win his third straight Grand Slam after winning the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. Another title this year would also be the 21-year-old’s fifth career Slam and a return to the top in New York after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals last year.

The draw has Alcaraz facing either Medvedev or Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, barring a major upset, with Novak Djokovic on the other side of the bracket. All three potential opponents are intriguing opponents: Medvedev seeking revenge for last year, Sinner as the new world No. 1 and the only other man to have won a Grand Slam this year, Djokovic seeking revenge for Alcaraz’s loss in the Olympic gold medal match earlier this month.

But first Alcaraz has to get there, just like the rest. Djokovic was predictable enough in the first round on Monday, while Medvedev and Sinner both dropped sets to unseeded opponents earlier on Tuesday.

Sinner in particular entered the tournament under a cloud of controversy after testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid twice earlier this year and avoiding suspension, which may have been the reason for a slow start against Mackenzie McDonald in a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 victory.