Number three seed Carlos Alcaraz was delighted after going past Australia’s Li Tu in the opening round of the US Open. The Spaniard registered a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win against the World No. 186 qualifier at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York on Tuesday.
Alcaraz admitted he was happy with the way he hit the ball and moved on the court. However, the young Spaniard also acknowledged he was surprised by his opponent in the second set, which he lost 4-6 but bounced back well in the next two sets.
“First of all, I’m really happy to get through and [have] a chance to be better in the next round,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference. “Obviously, I felt well on court. I think I hit the ball well. I moved well.
“[There are] a few things that I have to improve if I want to keep going in the draw, but obviously I have to give credit to him as well. He played really good tennis and surprised me a little bit in the second set. I leave the court happy with my performance.”
If Alcaraz goes all the way in the ongoing New York Major, he will become the third player after Rod Laver (1969) and Rafael Nadal (2010) to win the trio of Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open in the same season in the Open era.
The Silver medallist at the Paris Olympics made a total of 18 unforced errors in the second set and the 28-year-old Australian was able to capitalize.
“The first set, I made just two unforced errors. The second set I made 18. That was the huge difference for me,” Alcaraz assessed.
“He started to play better, obviously serving better, playing more aggressive and not making a lot of mistakes that he did in the first set. But talking about myself, it was from two to 18 unforced errors, a huge difference for me.”
Alcaraz will next face van de Zandschulp in the second round on Thursday
