Li Tu, the Australian qualifier who drew 2022 U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz, talked a giant game within the lead-up to their opening-round match.
Tu planned to present Alcaraz “three, 4, five sets of hell.” He gave the third seed greater than most observers — including Alcaraz — expected.
“He surprised me somewhat bit,” Alcaraz said after his 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory — his fifteenth straight win in a grand slam — under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “The primary set it was obvious he began the match nervous. After the primary set, he grew up. He began to play really great tennis. I used to be surprised. I’m going to follow him — his results — from now because I’m pretty sure if he’s playing at this level, I’m going to see him around very, very soon.”
Early on, it appeared like the 21-year-old Alcaraz would cruise.
He won 11 of the match’s first 12 points and rolled to the primary set.
Tu was nervous, mishitting shots and looking out overwhelmed playing in the large stadium.
He, nonetheless, built up some confidence by with the ability to get two games off Alcaraz in that tail end of that first set, and took it to him within the second.
He broke Alcaraz twice and had five set points.
On the fifth one, he cashed it in, evening the match at one set apiece.
It was a rare sloppy display by Alcaraz, who had 18 unforced errors within the set.
It marked the primary time the Spaniard had dropped a set within the opening round of a grand slam since Wimbledon in 2022.
“After the primary set, I made just two unforced errors. The second set I made 18. In order that was the large difference for me,” Alcaraz said. “He began to play higher. [He was] obviously serving higher, playing more aggressive, and never making a number of mistakes that he did in the primary set. But talking about myself, it was from two to 18 unforced errors [that was] an enormous difference for me.”
Alcaraz settled down from there.
He won 12 of the ultimate 16 games, and nine of the last 10, to advance in 2 hours, 42 minutes.
He didn’t lose his serve in the ultimate two sets, cut down on his mistakes and moved on to face unseeded Dutchman Botic van De Zandschulp within the second round on Thursday.
The winner of this yr’s French Open and Wimbledon, Alcaraz is trying to join Rod Laver (1969) and Rafael Nadal (2010) because the only players to win those two slams together with the U.S. Open in the identical yr.
He’s planning on staying in Queens some time, and potentially making some history as well.
“I like playing here in Recent York,” Alcaraz said. “The group gives you an energy that probably you don’t feel in other courts.”
Li Tu, the Australian qualifier who drew 2022 U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz, talked a giant game within the lead-up to their opening-round match.
Tu planned to present Alcaraz “three, 4, five sets of hell.” He gave the third seed greater than most observers — including Alcaraz — expected.
“He surprised me somewhat bit,” Alcaraz said after his 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory — his fifteenth straight win in a grand slam — under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “The primary set it was obvious he began the match nervous. After the primary set, he grew up. He began to play really great tennis. I used to be surprised. I’m going to follow him — his results — from now because I’m pretty sure if he’s playing at this level, I’m going to see him around very, very soon.”
Early on, it appeared like the 21-year-old Alcaraz would cruise.
He won 11 of the match’s first 12 points and rolled to the primary set.
Tu was nervous, mishitting shots and looking out overwhelmed playing in the large stadium.
He, nonetheless, built up some confidence by with the ability to get two games off Alcaraz in that tail end of that first set, and took it to him within the second.
He broke Alcaraz twice and had five set points.
On the fifth one, he cashed it in, evening the match at one set apiece.
It was a rare sloppy display by Alcaraz, who had 18 unforced errors within the set.
It marked the primary time the Spaniard had dropped a set within the opening round of a grand slam since Wimbledon in 2022.
“After the primary set, I made just two unforced errors. The second set I made 18. In order that was the large difference for me,” Alcaraz said. “He began to play higher. [He was] obviously serving higher, playing more aggressive, and never making a number of mistakes that he did in the primary set. But talking about myself, it was from two to 18 unforced errors [that was] an enormous difference for me.”
Alcaraz settled down from there.
He won 12 of the ultimate 16 games, and nine of the last 10, to advance in 2 hours, 42 minutes.
He didn’t lose his serve in the ultimate two sets, cut down on his mistakes and moved on to face unseeded Dutchman Botic van De Zandschulp within the second round on Thursday.
The winner of this yr’s French Open and Wimbledon, Alcaraz is trying to join Rod Laver (1969) and Rafael Nadal (2010) because the only players to win those two slams together with the U.S. Open in the identical yr.
He’s planning on staying in Queens some time, and potentially making some history as well.
“I like playing here in Recent York,” Alcaraz said. “The group gives you an energy that probably you don’t feel in other courts.”
