Alex de Minaur has survived an opening half-hour assault where he fended off 11 break points to move into the third round at the US Open for the eighth consecutive year.
The world No.8 – a two-time quarter-finalist at Flushing Meadows – joined 15th-seeded Daria Kasatkina as the only Australian winners on a day that saw Alexei Popyrin, Maya Joint, Adam Walton and Tristan Schoolkate exit the New York major.
Alex de Minaur has not dropped a set in his first two matches at the US Open.Credit: Getty Images
De Minaur has not dropped a set in his first two wins, eliminating Japanese qualifier and former world junior No.1 Shintaro Mochizuki by a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 scoreline that did not do justice to how competitive the contest was.
Dressed in all black again, his experience came to the fore in pressure moments as he converted seven of his nine break points. Mochizuki’s penchant for double faults at inopportune times came back to haunt him.
Even better for de Minaur is that Germany’s Daniel Altmaier outlasted his Greek nemesis Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Tsitsipas, who would have been de Minaur’s third-round opponent, has won 11 of his 12 meetings with the Australian.
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It was even tougher for Kasatkina, who had to play through cramping and rally from 4-1 down in the final set to edge out her friend and former Russian compatriot Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
She joins Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon, who upset top-20 star Liudmila Samsonova on Thursday (AEST), in the last 32. The last time two Australian women progressed to that stage at the US Open was 2021, when Ash Barty and Ajla Tomljanovic achieved that feat.
Kasatkina was actually cruising at a set and a break up twice before Rakhimova’s mid-match rearguard action.
“When I was 4-1 down, I was just like, ‘Oh my God’. I also started cramping,” Kasatkina said.
“I don’t know actually how I was able to come back and win. My finger was cramping. My quad was cramping. I was just running on the court, trying to finish as quickly as possible.
“I’m really happy with my effort today because even though I was not playing my best tennis, I was still able to get this win.”
Daria Kasatkina progressed to the third round in three sets.Credit: AP
Kasatkina progresses to a blockbuster match-up with 2018 and 2020 champion Naomi Osaka, who thrashed American Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1. Osaka has not dropped a set in her two clashes with Kasatkina.
“It’s going to be a very tough match. Naomi is back on track, and she is now showing good results, and she was a winner here twice,” Kasatkina said.
“She’s used to this place, to this crowd, but I’m not the person who’s going to give up, so I’m going to get a good rest today, and prepare well for the next match.”
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Walton was the first Australian to lose on Friday, bowing out 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to Hong Kong’s 21-year-old qualifier Coleman Wong, while wildcard Schoolkate went down 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to red-hot Kazakh 23rd seed Alexander Bublik.
Popyrin entered his second-round showdown with world No.1 Jannik Sinner believing his upset victory over Novak Djokovic at last year’s US Open, and a previous win over the Italian in 2021, would hold him in good stead.
Instead, Sinner made Popyrin look second-rate in an ominous 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 demolition.
The defending champion pouring pressure on the big-hitting Australian on almost all his service games, including an instant break to start the match. Twice, Popyrin was able to make inroads on Sinner’s serve, but each time the Italian escaped before breaking the Australian to love.
“I was able to put pressure on his serve, but, when push came to shove, he came up flush,” Popyrin said.
“There’s not much you can do when you come up against those players. What can I say? He stepped up when he needed to. I guess that’s why he’s No.1 in the world.”
Jannik Sinner ended Alexei Popyrin’s 2025 US Open in straight sets in the second round.Credit: Getty Images
US-born Joint, whose father Michael grew up in Melbourne, is one of only three teenagers in the top 50 on the women’s side and has won two WTA Tour titles this year, but is yet to make a deep run in a major.
The world No.43 made a great start against eighth-seeded American Amanda Anisimova on Arthur Ashe Stadium, pocketing the first break in the seventh game before walking out to serve for the opening set at 5-4.
Joint’s serve began to fail her at that stage as Anisimova grabbed control and ran away with the match, eventually prevailing 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 to move into the last 32 at her home grand slam.
Among the big names to progress were Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti and Andrey Rublev, but ninth-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov lost in five sets to unheralded Pole Kamil Majchrzak.
– with AAP