Alex de Minaur Dominates Guerrieri in US Open First Round

Rain, delays and a ruthless 99-minute reminder that Alex de Minaur likes New York just fine.

The world No.7 had to wait until the fourth day of the US Open to strike a ball in anger. When he finally did, Andrea Guerrieri barely had time to catch his breath. De Minaur ripped through the Italian qualifier 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 on a soggy, stop‑start day that once again turned the first week at Flushing Meadows into a scheduling jigsaw.

Guerrieri, a 27-year-old left-hander playing his first grand slam main draw, never got the chance to feel his way into it. De Minaur broke in the opening game of each of the first two sets, stamped his authority early and never really let it go. The Australian’s feet were buzzing, his timing was crisp, and the scoreboard raced with him.

He led 6-2, 4-2 when the latest burst of New York rain barged in. Play was suspended, players sent back to the locker room, momentum forced to sit and wait for almost two hours.

For some, that kind of interruption can twist a routine win into a long night. De Minaur treated it as a minor inconvenience.

“These tournaments, it’s all about adapting – and that’s the name of the game,” he 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.”

He needed only 99 minutes of actual tennis to finish the job, either side of the delay, joining Dane Sweeny, Tristan Schoolkate, Taylah Preston, Kim Birrell, Maya Joint, Alexei Popyrin and James Duckworth as Australian first-round winners.

There was one wobble. With the finish line right in front of him in the third set, the three-time US Open quarter-finalist tossed in a sloppy service game and lost it to love when trying to move 4-2 ahead. The next time he picked up the Wilson balls, he slipped 0-30 behind as well.

The lapse didn’t last. De Minaur reset, tightened his patterns and closed it out without letting Guerrieri sniff anything more than that brief opening.

Rain, again, had already shaped his week in another way. Initially scheduled for the bigger Grandstand a day earlier, he was bumped out to the back courts, landing on court 11 and missing out on the safety of a roof. No complaints, just a brisk demolition job in the outer reaches of Flushing Meadows.

“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.”

The draw, though, won’t indulge him for long.

Next comes Botic van de Zandschulp, the dangerous Dutchman who rolled Brit Jan Choinski in straight sets and carries a very specific New York memory: he knocked out Carlos Alcaraz in the second round here two years ago. De Minaur’s projected path after that features 31st seed Zizou Bergs in the third round and top seed Alexander Zverev in a potential quarter-final. Zverev has already been dragged through almost five hours by Lorenzo Sonego in his opener.

One possible obstacle has vanished. In-form No.12 seed Rafael Jodar, a likely fourth-round opponent on paper, crashed out in a stunning 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 defeat to lucky loser Bu Yunchaokete, who slipped into the draw when Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew with an ankle issue. The section has opened a fraction, but only a fraction.

De Minaur arrives in New York with mixed form. His season started brilliantly – a second straight Australian Open quarter-final, a title in Rotterdam – yet the bar he has set for himself is now high enough that a third-round exit at Roland-Garros and a fourth-round loss at Wimbledon feel like missed chances. The US Open, though, has consistently brought out his best. This is where he’s already made three quarter-finals, where the hard courts and the chaos seem to suit his relentless, chasing style.

Australia’s day in New York wasn’t all sunshine.

Preston, the 20-year-old wildcard, ran into an unforgiving Taylor Townsend and was swept aside 6-1, 6-1 in just 48 minutes. The numbers told the story: only two winners against 28 unforced errors, a harsh lesson in the demands of second-week-level tennis.

Kim Birrell fought harder. After dropping the first set 6-1 to No.18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, she surged back to take the second 6-2 and drag the match into a decider. The key moment came instantly: a double fault on the first point of the third set handed Alexandrova the early break and with it the initiative. Birrell chased, but the Russian closed it out 6-3.

On the women’s side, Daria Kasatkina’s US Open ended in the shadow of a rain delay as well. Her first-round match against former world No.2 Paula Badosa had been halted the previous day with Badosa just two points from victory. When they returned, the Spaniard had to fend off two break-back points before finally sealing a 6-1, 5-4 win on her ninth match point, setting up a clash with defending champion Coco Gauff.

There was personal disappointment closer to home for de Minaur. His wife, British No.1 Katie Boulter, endured a brutal afternoon, losing 6-1, 6-0 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.”

Maya Joint and James Duckworth are next up among the Australians, with Joint facing No.9 seed Elina Svitolina and Duckworth taking on Wu Yibing in their second-round matches on Thursday (AEST).

For de Minaur, the equation is simpler and far more demanding. The rain will come and go. The courts will change, from court 11 to, if he keeps winning, the bright glare of Arthur Ashe. The opposition will get heavier with every step.

He has turned New York into a happy hunting ground before. Now the question is whether this stop-start, weather-beaten first round is the quiet beginning of another deep run, or just a sharp reminder of how ruthless he can be when everything clicks.