Carlos Alcaraz Advances to US Open 2024 Second Round After Overcoming Li Tu Challenge

Carlos Alcaraz moved into the second round of the US Open 2024 by defeating Australia's Li Tu in four sets. The young Spaniard hopes to become the third man to win Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open in the same year.

Carlos Alcaraz stormed into the second round of the US Open 2024 after recalibrating his approach against Australia's Li Tu in the opening round at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The young Spaniard extended his major match-winning streak to 15 with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 triumph, moving closer to becoming the third man in the Open Era to win Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open in the same year.

The 2022 US Open champion clinched the first set 6-2 swiftly, hinting at a quick conclusion. However, dynamics shifted in the second set when the 22-year-old lost three consecutive games, dropping a topsy-turvy 10-minute service game with the scoreline at 4-5 in favor of Li Tu.

Alcaraz regrouped after the second set, reducing his unforced errors from 18 to a handful, and leaned on his strong forehand game to control play from the baseline, ultimately luring the Australian into making mistakes. The match, lasting 2 hours and 42 minutes, saw Alcaraz securing his 60th Grand Slam level win.

Reflecting on the game, Alcaraz stated, "First of all, I'm really happy to get through and [have] a chance to be better in the next round. Obviously, I felt well on the 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."

He highlighted his performance variance between the sets, "The first set, I made just two unforced errors. In the second set, I made 18. That was the huge difference for me. He started to play better, obviously serving better, playing more aggressively, and not making a lot of mistakes 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 face Botic van de Zandschulp in the next round, who defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to secure his spot.

(With inputs from agencies.)