Alex de Minaur Dominates US Open Opener Amid Rain Delays
Rain on repeat. Delay after delay. When Alex de Minaur finally walked out for his US Open opener, he made sure his stay on court was brief.
Ninety-nine minutes of tennis, stretched across a two-hour interruption, was all it took for the world No.7 to rip through Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 and plant a marker in a sodden first week at Flushing Meadows.
De Minaur cuts through the chaos
By the time de Minaur struck his first ball, it was the fourth day of the tournament. He was supposed to start on Wednesday (AEST). New York’s stubborn, stop-start rain had other ideas.
Guerrieri, 27 and tasting a grand slam main draw for the first time, barely had time to settle. De Minaur broke in the opening game of the match. Then did it again to start the second set. The gulf in experience showed immediately.
The Australian’s movement snapped, his ball-striking was crisp, and he looked every bit a man intent on a quick escape from the back courts. He led 6-2, 4-2 when the chair umpire called a halt as the rain returned, sending players and spectators back under cover yet again.
Two hours vanished. The scoreline didn’t.
When they came back, de Minaur simply picked up where he left off. He joined compatriots Dane Sweeny, Tristan Schoolkate, Taylah Preston, Kim Birrell, Maya Joint, Alexei Popyrin and James Duckworth as first-round winners, but did it with a ruthlessness that suggested he has far bigger ambitions in New York.
“These tournaments, it’s all about adapting – and that’s the name of the game,” he said. “There’s too much to play for to let something like this affect you, so I’m glad [about how] I handled it. I’m glad I got in and out, played a relatively clean match, and now I can focus on the next one.”
A brief wobble, then the door slammed shut
The performance was not flawless. With the finish line in sight in the third set, de Minaur blinked.
Serving at 3-2, he tossed in a loose game, lost to love, and handed Guerrieri a rare foothold. His next service game began with more trouble as he slipped 0-30 behind, the Wilson balls suddenly feeling a little heavier.
The pressure could have lingered. It didn’t. De Minaur reset, tightened up his patterns and shut the door before the Italian could sense a genuine opening. The three-time US Open quarter-finalist completed the job without further fuss, the early lapse reduced to a footnote.
“Because of the rain, there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said. “You’ve just got to get out there, play your tennis match and, ultimately, if you win enough matches, you’re going to get out on the stadium court. So that’s the mindset.”
For now, the stadiums will have to wait. Pushed from the Grandstand, where he had been scheduled a day earlier, de Minaur found himself out in the back blocks on Court 11, far from the retractable roofs that have become prime real estate this week. The surroundings were modest; the statement was not.
Australians feel the sting
Not every Australian story in New York carried the same optimism.
Taylah Preston, a 20-year-old wildcard, ran into a ruthless Taylor Townsend and was swept aside 6-1, 6-1 in just 48 minutes in their second-round clash. Preston managed only two winners and sprayed 28 unforced errors, a harsh reminder of the level required deep in a grand slam draw.
Kim Birrell produced a spirited mid-match surge against No.18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, snatching the second set to force a decider. But a double fault on the very first point of the third set opened the door for the Russian, who seized control and closed out a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 win.
Daria Kasatkina’s campaign ended in similarly frustrating fashion. Her rain-halted first-round match against former world No.2 Paula Badosa resumed with the Spaniard two points from victory. Badosa still had to fight, fending off two break-back points and needing nine match points in total before finally sealing a 6-1, 5-4 triumph and booking a showdown with 2024 champion Coco Gauff.
Away from the outer courts, there was more disappointment close to home for de Minaur. His wife, British player Katie Boulter, suffered a bruising 6-1, 6-0 defeat to Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova in the second round.
“Of course, it’s difficult,” de Minaur said. “Ultimately, we’ve got each other’s backs no matter what, and we’ve always got one eye out on each other. Obviously, it was a tough day for Katie, and I had to do my best to just focus on my task ahead and get the job done in the best way possible. I’m glad I was able to achieve that today.”
Maya Joint and James Duckworth will try to extend the Australian presence when they play their second-round matches on Thursday (AEST), against No.9 seed Elina Svitolina and Wu Yibing respectively.
A brutal draw, with one small opening
If de Minaur’s first round felt like a tune-up, the tests now come thick and fast.
Next is Botic van de Zandschulp, the dangerous Dutchman who rolled past Jan Choinski in straight sets and owns one of Flushing Meadows’ more notable recent scalps: Carlos Alcaraz, in the second round two years ago. Van de Zandschulp hits big, takes the ball early and has shown he can thrive in the chaos of New York.
Beyond that, the projected path is unforgiving. Zizou Bergs, the 31st seed, looms as a likely third-round opponent. Top seed Alexander Zverev, who survived an almost five-hour epic against Lorenzo Sonego in his opener, sits as the probable quarter-final hurdle.
One significant obstacle, though, disappeared before de Minaur had even completed his first match. In-form No.12 seed Rafael Jodar, a potential fourth-round opponent, crashed out in a stunning 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 defeat to lucky loser Bu Yunchaokete. The Chinese player only entered the draw when Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew with an ankle problem, and has now detonated one of the section’s key contenders.
The section is still stacked. It is also, suddenly, more navigable.
Back to his happy hunting ground
De Minaur’s season started with a surge: a second straight Australian Open quarter-final, a title in Rotterdam, a clear step into the sport’s upper tier. Since then, by his own elevated standards, he has stalled a touch, falling in the third round at Roland-Garros and the fourth round at Wimbledon.
New York, though, has often felt like his city.
The hard courts suit his speed, his counterpunching, his willingness to scrap for every point. The night sessions, the noise, the edge in the air – they play into his competitive instincts. Three quarter-finals here are proof that when the calendar flips to late August, de Minaur usually finds another gear.
This time, he arrives as Australia’s clear standard-bearer and a top-10 player expected to contend, not just annoy the favourites. The margins narrow when the ranking climbs. The questions get louder.
One comfortable win on Court 11 will not answer them. But it was the kind of sharp, no-nonsense start that serious title runs often demand.
The rain will keep falling. The draw will keep tightening. If de Minaur really is ready to turn a happy hunting ground into something more, the next week in New York will tell.
