Alcaraz overcomes second-set hiccup against qualifier Tu

Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the No 3 seed, won against Australian qualifier Li Tu 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to move into the second round of the US Open in New York on Tuesday night.

Having not won a hardcourt match since March, Alcaraz began surprisingly well against Tu. He raced through the first set, committing just two unforced errors, winning 89 percent of first serve points and striking 11 winners.

Tu struggled to adjust to the biggest stage in tennis, winning just 12 points across the opening set.

However, as he has a penchant for doing, Alcaraz cooled off and played a poor second set. The Spaniard made 18 unforced errors – double his number of winners – while Tu began to find his flow as he broke Alcaraz twice to claim the set 6-4.

The dropped set was a wake up call for the 2022 champion, however, as he once again reigned in his errors and raced away with the match, dropping just five more games as he booked his spot in the second round.

Alcaraz, ranked No 3, will face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp next.

New York (Grand Slam), other first-round results (USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, hard, USD 75.000.000, most recent results first):

• Lorenzo Sonego vs. Tommy Paul: wednesday
• Mattia Bellucci (Q) beat Stan Wawrinka (WC): 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3
• Christopher O’Connell beat Nicolas Jarry (26): 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
• Zizou Bergs vs. Pavel Kotov: tuesday
• Gabriel Diallo (Q) beat Jaume Munar: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
• Fabian Marozsan beat Hamad Medjedovic (Q): 2-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
• Flavio Cobolli (31) beat James Duckworth: 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
• Sebastian Korda (16) beat Corentin Moutet: 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-0
• Max Purcell beat Aleksandar Vukic: 7-5, 6-4, 6-3
• Botic van de Zandschulp beat Denis Shapovalov: 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
• Arthur Fils (24) beat Learner Tien (WC): 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
• Daniil Medvedev (5) beat Dusan Lajovic: 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
• Alex De Minaur (10) beat Marcos Giron: 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
• Facundo Diaz Acosta beat Hugo Gaston: 6-1, 6-4, 6-2
• Matteo Arnaldi (30) beat Zachary Svajda (WC): 6-3, 6-2, 6-1
• Nuno Borges beat Federico Coria: 6-2, 6-4, 6-1
• Jannik Sinner (1) beat Mackenzie McDonald: 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2
• Roman Safiullin beat Matthew Forbes (WC): 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-2
• Adrian Mannarino beat Borna Coric: 7-5, 6-2, 6-3
• Jack Draper (25) beat Zhizhen Zhang: 6-3, 6-0, 4-0 ret.
• Alex Michelsen beat Eliot Spizzirri (Q): 6-1, 7-5, 6-3
• Daniel Evans beat Karen Khachanov (23): 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4
• Otto Virtanen (Q) beat Quentin Halys (Q): 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2
• Tomas Machac beat Fabio Fognini: 7-5, 6-1, 6-3
• David Goffin beat Alejandro Tabilo (22): 7-6 (7), 6-1, 7-5
• Hubert Hurkacz (7) beat Timofey Skatov (Q): 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3)
• Jordan Thompson beat Constant Lestienne: 6-1, 6-3, 6-2
• Mariano Navone beat Daniel Altmaier: 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1
• Jakub Mensik beat Felix Auger-Aliassime (19): 6-2, 6-4, 6-2
• Tristan Schoolkate (WC) beat Taro Daniel: 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-4
• Thanasi Kokkinakis beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (11): 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
• Novak Djokovic (2) beat Radu Albot (Q): 6-2, 6-2, 6-4
• Tallon Griekspoor beat Sumit Nagal: 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (6)
• Arthur Cazaux beat Pablo Carreno Busta: 6-1, 6-3, 6-3
• Laslo Djere beat Jan-Lennard Struff: 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2
• Frances Tiafoe (20) beat Aleksandar Kovacevic: 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
• Sebastian Baez (21) beat Luciano Darderi: 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-0, 7-6 (4)
• Brandon Nakashima beat Holger Rune (15): 6-2, 6-1, 6-4
• Rinky Hijikata beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
• Arthur Rinderknech beat Christopher Eubanks (WC): 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8)
• Alexander Shevchenko beat Dominik Koepfer: 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
• Grigor Dimitrov (9) beat Kyrian Jacquet (Q): 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
• Alexandre Muller (WC) beat Adam Walton: 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-4
• Gael Monfils beat Diego Schwartzman (Q): 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1
• Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard: 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
• Miomir Kecmanovic beat Yoshihito Nishioka: 7-6 (2), 2-6, 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 ret.
• Francisco Cerundolo (29) beat Sebastian Ofner: 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
• Lorenzo Musetti (18) beat Reilly Opelka: 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-1, 7-5
• Jiri Lehecka (32) beat Marton Fucsovics: 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 3-0 ret.
• Taylor Fritz (12) beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli: 7-5, 6-1, 6-2
• Andrey Rublev (6) beat Thiago Seyboth Wild: 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-5
• Pedro Martinez Portero beat Maks Kasnikowski (Q): 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (6)
• Alexei Popyrin (28) beat SoonWoo Kwon: 7-5, 6-2, 6-3
• Casper Ruud (8) beat Yunchaokete Bu (Q): 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2
• Matteo Berrettini beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas: 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3
• Ben Shelton (13) beat Dominic Thiem (WC): 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
• Ugo Humbert (17) beat Thiago Monteiro: 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
• Juncheng Shang beat Alexander Bublik (27): 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
• Roberto Bautista Agut beat Luca Nardi: 7-5, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5)
• Mitchell Krueger (Q) beat Hugo Grenier (Q): 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5
• Alexander Zverev (4) beat Maximilian Marterer (LL): 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2
• Francisco Comesana beat Dominic Stricker: 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3
• Roberto Carballes Baena beat Jan Choinski (Q): 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-7 (5), 6-3