Australian tenth seed Alex de Minaur has ensured his sixth third-round displaying in New York following a straight-sets ledger in opposition to Finland’s Otto Virtanen.
30 August 2024 | Tennis Australia
Alex de Minaur’s return from a Wimbledon hip damage is gathering momentum after accounting for Finland’s Otto Virtanen within the US Open second spherical.
Following a good opening set, the Australian 10th seed, aided partly by a decrease again damage to the qualifier, lifted for a 7-5 6-1 7-6(3) win.
The 2-hour, 17-minute consequence secured his sixth third-round look at Flushing Meadows in seven years and a conflict in opposition to Argentine Mariano Navone or Brit Dan Evans.
“Didn’t have my better of begins; he’s a tough opponent,” De Minaur informed Stan Sports activities. “He takes the racquet out of [your hand] .He began off at a really excessive degree.
“I took some time to get into the match. I simply stayed with it, stayed optimistic. I informed myself I might have probabilities and completely happy that I used to be capable of flip it round.”
One in every of eight Australian males by to the second spherical – probably the most since 1976 – the nation’s spearhead continued a powerful day for his compatriots.
The best-ranked unseeded participant within the males’s draw, Jordan Thompson, bagged a straight-sets victory over seventh-seeded Pole Hubert Hurkacz – his maiden top-10 win at a significant – whereas Chris O’Connell equalled his career-best Grand Slam run after his win over Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci.
> READ: O’Connell units showdown with world No.1 in US Open third spherical
Solely six weeks in the past, De Minaur’s Wimbledon marketing campaign was derailed after he picked up a hip cartilage tear in his fourth-round Wimbledon victory over Arthur Fils, which led to his withdrawal forward of a quarterfinal in opposition to Novak Djokovic.
He contested one doubles match alongside Alexei Popyrin on the Paris 2024 Olympics however had not returned to singles motion till his opening-round four-set victory over American Marco Giron.
“It appears like I haven’t performed tennis shortly and I haven’t performed matches shortly,” De Minaur stated. “The physique by no means forgets. It’s a disgrace, however each day I’m feeling a bit bit higher.
“It’s all about making an attempt to my greatest with the physique in the intervening time, making an attempt to verify I’m considerably able to play the next matches. It’s quite a lot of tennis being performed, which I haven’t been capable of do for a very long time…
“I really feel one thing there. It’s clearly not as fluid as I want to be shifting on the market. I’m lacking on my sliding backward and forward, which I can’t actually do in the intervening time, however we carry on going.”
The 25-year-old reeled off 5 straight video games to steal the opening set from a quick-starting Virtanen earlier than the Finn, down a break at 1-2 within the second set, signalled to the chair umpire he required remedy for a again drawback.
The second set was a write-off, however the world No.125 caught with De Minaur as neither participant faltered on serve within the third set.
Three hefty first serves from Virtanen – one at match level down –compelled the tiebreak after the conflict had handed the two-hour mark earlier than Australia’s No.1 closed it out on his fourth alternative.
Aussies in motion – US Open
RESULTS
Males’s singles, second spherical
[10] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [Q] Otto Virtanen (FIN)
Jordan Thompson (AUS) d [7] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 7-6(2) 6-1 7-5
Chris O’Connell (AUS) d [Q] Mattia Bellucci (ITA) 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3
Nuno Borges (POR) d Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 6-4 7-5 7-5
> READ: Thompson stuns world No.7 Hurkacz at US Open 2024
COMING UP
Males’s singles, second spherical
Max Purcell (AUS) v [14] Tommy Paul (USA)
[WC] Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) v Jakub Mensik (CZE)
Males’s singles, third spherical
[28] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Chris O’Connell (AUS) v [1] Jannik Sinner (ITA)
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v [30] Matteo Arnaldi (ITA)
[10] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v TBC
> VIEW: US Open 2024 males’s singles draw
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