Rain, delays, waiting rooms, practice courts. Alex de Minaur spent three days at the US Open stuck in neutral.
When he finally walked on to Court 11 for his first-round match, he needed just 99 minutes of live tennis to slam the door on Andrea Guerrieri and the New York drizzle alike.
The world No.7 tore through the Italian qualifier 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday (AEST), a clinical, businesslike opening to a fortnight he believes can again stretch deep into the second week.
De Minaur shrugs off the chaos
De Minaur was supposed to start his campaign on Wednesday. Rain said otherwise. He arrived at Flushing Meadows on day four still without a ball struck in anger.
Once he did start, he wasted no time.
He broke Guerrieri – a 27-year-old making his grand slam main-draw debut – in the first game of each of the opening two sets, instantly stamping his authority on a damp, back-court assignment that could easily have become awkward.
He led 6-2, 4-2 when the chair umpire halted play as the rain returned. Another long wait. Another chance for frustration to creep in. The delay stretched to about two hours.
It never showed on the scoreboard.
“These tournaments, it’s all about adapting – and that’s the name of the game,” de Minaur said later. “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.”
Back on court, he resumed in the same gear: sharp off the ground, electric in his movement, and ruthless whenever Guerrieri’s serve dipped. The left-hander was constantly on the stretch, rarely allowed to dictate.
Only at the finish did de Minaur blink. Serving at 3-2 in the third, he played his one poor game of the afternoon, dropping serve to love as the finish line loomed. His next service game started with a 0-30 hole as the Wilson balls skidded through the moist air.
The wobble ended there. He reset, tightened the screws again and closed out a straight-sets win that looked exactly like what it was: a top-10 player dispatching a qualifier without burning unnecessary energy.
Because of the scheduling chaos, de Minaur was pushed from the bigger Grandstand court to Court 11, well out in the back blocks of Flushing Meadows and far from the shelter of the two main stadiums’ retractable roofs.
He didn’t complain. He just won.
“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.”
His victory added him to a growing list of Australian first-round winners: Dane Sweeny, Tristan Schoolkate, Taylah Preston, Kim Birrell, Maya Joint, Alexei Popyrin and James Duckworth all advanced as well.
Tough day for the Aussies – and for Boulter
Not everyone in green and gold found the same rhythm.
Preston’s promising run came to a brutal halt in the second round. The 20-year-old wildcard lasted only 48 minutes against American Taylor Townsend, overwhelmed 6-1, 6-1 and undone by 28 unforced errors against just two winners.
Birrell, too, bowed out after a spirited push. She dragged No.18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova into a deciding set, only to open the third with a double fault that handed immediate momentum back to the Russian. The gap never closed, Alexandrova advancing 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.
James Duckworth and Maya Joint will try to keep Australian hopes bubbling in the lower half of the draw when they play their second-round matches on Thursday (AEST). Joint faces No.9 seed Elina Svitolina, Duckworth meets Wu Yibing.
On the women’s side, Daria Kasatkina’s tournament ended almost before it could restart. Her rain-interrupted first-round clash with Paula Badosa resumed with the Spaniard two points from victory. Badosa needed nine match points and had to fend off two break-back chances in the final game, but she finally sealed a 6-1, 5-4 win and booked a heavyweight meeting with defending champion Coco Gauff.
Away from the Australian contingent, de Minaur had another concern: home.
His wife, British No.1 Katie Boulter, was thrashed 6-1, 6-0 by 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.”
A familiar stage, a steeper climb
This has been a year of two halves for de Minaur.
He opened 2026 in a blaze: a second straight Australian Open quarter-final, then the title in Rotterdam, proof that his top-10 ranking is no outlier. Since then, by his own standards, he has cooled – a third-round exit at Roland-Garros, a fourth-round departure at Wimbledon.
New York, though, has often been kind. Three times he has reached the quarter-finals here. The conditions, the pace, the chaos of the city – it all seems to suit him.
The path ahead is rugged, but not unmanageable.
Next comes Botic van de Zandschulp, a dangerous second-round opponent with a history of causing trouble in this city. The Dutchman rolled past Briton Jan Choinski in straight sets and famously knocked out Carlos Alcaraz in the second round two years ago.
Get through that and the draw points to 31st seed Zizou Bergs as a likely third-round opponent, then top seed Alexander Zverev in a projected quarter-final. Zverev already has miles in his legs after a near five-hour first-round struggle with Lorenzo Sonego.
One potential obstacle has already disappeared. No.12 seed Rafael Jodar, in superb form this season and a possible fourth-round opponent for de Minaur, crashed out in stunning fashion. The Spaniard was crushed 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 by lucky loser Bu Yunchaokete, who stepped into the draw when Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew with an ankle problem.
The rain will keep coming and the schedule will keep shifting, but de Minaur has made his opening statement. He handled the delays, swept aside a qualifier, and walked off with barely a scratch.
Now comes the real test: can he turn another promising start in New York into the deep run that has so far eluded him at the other majors this season?
