Alex de Minaur's US Open Opener: Efficient Victory Amidst Chaos

Rain on the outside, a whirlwind on the inside.

Alex de Minaur finally walked on court for his US Open opener on day four. Less than an hour of actual play later, he was gone again, leaving only damp seats and a dismantled qualifier behind him.

The world No.7, shunted out to Court 11 at Flushing Meadows after the schedule was torn apart by New York’s stubborn rain, cut through Italian left-hander Andrea Guerrieri 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 in a brisk 99 minutes of action split by yet another delay.

Guerrieri, 27 and tasting a grand slam main draw for the first time, barely had time to feel the occasion. De Minaur broke him in the opening game of the match. Then did it again to start the second set. The tone was brutal and clear.

By the time the chair umpire halted play with de Minaur leading 6-2, 4-2, the contest already felt settled. Two hours in the locker room didn’t change that. When they returned, the Australian rejoined a growing list of compatriots – Dane Sweeny, Tristan Schoolkate, Taylah Preston, Kim Birrell, Maya Joint, Alexei Popyrin and James Duckworth – who had already booked their spots in round two.

This was de Minaur at his most efficient: sharp off the ground, darting into the corners, taking time away from a man who needed rhythm and oxygen. The Wilson balls flew off his strings with purpose. His movement, so often his barometer, looked tuned from the first point.

There was one wobble. With the finish line straight ahead in the third set, the three-time US Open quarter-finalist tossed in a loose service game and was broken to love when trying to edge 4-2 clear. He trailed 0-30 in his next service game as well, suddenly flirting with unnecessary drama.

He slammed that door quickly enough, tightening his patterns, finding his first serve, and closing the match without allowing Guerrieri a real look at a comeback.

“These tournaments, it’s all about adapting – and that’s the name of the game,” de Minaur said afterwards. “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.

“Because of the rain, there’s nothing you can do about it. 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.”

He didn’t get the stadium this time. Originally pencilled in for the Grandstand a day earlier, he ended up in the back blocks, far from the glare and the roofs of Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong that spared others from the weather chaos. The location didn’t change his authority.

What comes next will test it.

Tough road ahead

The comfortable scoreline in round one is where the generosity ends. De Minaur now runs into Botic van de Zandschulp, the dangerous Dutchman who knows exactly how to cause trouble in New York. Van de Zandschulp moved through his opener in straight sets against Brit Jan Choinski and carries the memory – and confidence – of his upset of Carlos Alcaraz here two years ago.

If the seedings hold, 31st seed Zizou Bergs looms in the third round and top seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals. Zverev has already been dragged deep into the New York night, needing almost five hours to subdue Lorenzo Sonego in his first match, but his presence at the top of the draw remains the defining obstacle.

One potential landmine, though, has been removed from de Minaur’s path. In-form No.12 seed Rafael Jodar, a projected fourth-round opponent, was blasted out of the tournament 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 by lucky loser Bu Yunchaokete. Bu only entered the main draw when Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew with an ankle problem, then tore through Jodar to rip up that section of the draw.

For de Minaur, the opportunity is obvious. So is the pressure.

He opened the season in a blaze, backing up his Australian Open quarter-final run with another last-eight finish in Melbourne and adding the Rotterdam title to his résumé. Since then, by the standards of a top-10 player, the returns have been thinner: a third-round exit at Roland-Garros, a fourth-round departure at Wimbledon, and fewer deep runs than his early form promised.

The US Open, though, has always felt like his kind of tournament. The noise, the speed, the late nights. He has already been to the quarter-finals three times here and knows the shape of a second-week campaign in New York. He also knows that, as Australia’s clear standard-bearer, every slip is magnified.

Mixed fortunes for Australians

While de Minaur surged, the wider Australian contingent endured a bruising day.

Taylah Preston’s second-round experience was over almost as soon as it began. The 20-year-old wildcard was overwhelmed 6-1, 6-1 by American Taylor Townsend in just 48 minutes, managing only two winners against a pile of 28 unforced errors. On this stage, that imbalance is merciless.

Kim Birrell fought harder, turning a one-sided first set against No.18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova into a genuine contest. She stormed through the second set to level the match, only to double fault on the opening point of the decider. That slip handed Alexandrova the early break and, with it, the initiative. Birrell chased but never caught up, falling 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.

Maya Joint and James Duckworth are still in the fight, both scheduled for second-round action on Thursday (AEST). Joint faces No.9 seed Elina Svitolina, a seasoned campaigner who thrives on these courts. Duckworth meets Wu Yibing in a match that could swing on who handles the occasion better.

Beyond the Australian camp, one of the day’s most intriguing subplots involved Daria Kasatkina and Paula Badosa. Their first-round clash, paused by rain with Badosa on the brink, resumed with the Spaniard still two points from the finish line. She needed nine match points in total and had to fend off two break-back chances before finally closing out a 6-1, 5-4 win. Her reward is a marquee showdown with defending 2024 champion Coco Gauff.

Personal stakes

Away from his own progress, de Minaur had to compartmentalise. His wife, British No.1 Katie Boulter, suffered a heavy 6-1, 6-0 loss to Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova in the second round.

“Of course, it’s difficult,” he 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.”

The rain will keep coming and the draw will keep tightening. De Minaur has navigated the first disruption, the first test, the first hint of New York’s usual chaos.

Now the question is no longer whether he’s ready to play. It’s how far this hardened, top-10 version of Alex de Minaur can push into a tournament that has so often felt like his best stage.