Alex de Minaur Advances to Third Round at US Open

Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur has progressed to the third round of the US Open following a straight-sets victory over Finland’s Otto Virtanen.

De Minaur, who is seeded 10th, secured the win with scores of 7-5, 6-1, 7-6(3), in a match lasting two hours and 17 minutes. This victory marks his sixth third-round appearance at Flushing Meadows in seven years.

After experiencing a tight opening set, De Minaur was assisted by a back injury sustained by Virtanen, which allowed him to raise his performance level significantly in the subsequent sets.

Reflecting on his performance, De Minaur stated, “Didn’t have my best of starts; he’s a tricky opponent. I took a while to get into the match. I just stayed with it, stayed positive.”

With De Minaur’s advancement, he is one of eight Australian men in the second round, which is the highest representation since 1976. Teammate Jordan Thompson achieved a notable victory over seventh-seeded Hubert Hurkacz, marking his first top-10 win at a major tournament.

De Minaur’s road to the US Open has been challenging. He suffered a hip cartilage tear during his run at Wimbledon, which led him to withdraw before facing Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. He only recently returned to singles competition.

In his match against Virtanen, De Minaur managed to secure five consecutive games to clinch the first set. The second set became lopsided, and despite Virtanen’s attempts to regain momentum, the match proceeded to a tightly contested third set.

The third set featured a tiebreak, and De Minaur capitalized on his fourth match point to seal his victory.