Alcaraz is scared by a qualifier before reaching the second round of the US Open

NEW YORK – Carlos Alcaraz was scared by Australian qualifier Li Tu in the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday before eking out a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Olympics, got off to a good start before mistakes piled up and he lost the second set.

The Spaniard restored order by breaking with a forehand in the third set to take a 4-3 lead and never looked back, sealing the win with his eighth ace and setting up a second-round meeting with Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp.

Tu, an Adelaide native who took a six-year break from tennis in 2014 to complete a degree and set up a tennis academy, won three qualifying matches to face the third-seeded player on the Arthur Armstrong Stadium court for the first time.

Alcaraz won the French Open in June and defeated Djokovic to triumph at Wimbledon a month later, but was bitterly disappointed after failing to make it to the Paris Games and finally suffering a surprise loss to Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open.

The 21-year-old, who won the 2022 US Open, showed no signs of his mobility being limited by a right ankle injury sustained during a training session on Saturday. REUTERS