30 August 2024 | Tennis Australia

Alex de Minaur’s return from a Wimbledon hip injury is gathering momentum after accounting for Finland’s Otto Virtanen in the US Open second round.

Following a tight opening set, the Australian 10^th seed, aided in part by a lower back injury to the qualifier, lifted for a 7-5 6-1 7-6(3) win.

The two-hour, 17-minute result secured his sixth third-round appearance at Flushing Meadows in seven years and a clash against Argentine Mariano Navone or Brit Dan Evans.

“Didn’t have my best of starts; he’s a tricky opponent,” De Minaur told Stan Sports. “He takes the racquet out of [your hand] .He started off at a very high level.

“I took a while to get into the match. I just stayed with it, stayed positive. I told myself I would have chances and happy that I was able to turn it around.”

One of eight Australian men through to the second round – the most since 1976 – the nation’s spearhead continued an impressive day for his compatriots.

The highest-ranked unseeded player in the men’s draw, Jordan Thompson, bagged a straight-sets victory over seventh-seeded Pole Hubert Hurkacz – his maiden top-10 win at a major – while Chris O’Connell equalled his career-best Grand Slam run after his win over Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci.

> READ: O’Connell sets showdown with world No.1 in US Open third round

Only six weeks ago, De Minaur’s Wimbledon campaign was derailed after he picked up a hip cartilage tear in his fourth-round Wimbledon victory over Arthur Fils, which led to his withdrawal ahead of a quarterfinal against Novak Djokovic.

He contested one doubles match alongside Alexei Popyrin at the Paris 2024 Olympics but had not returned to singles action until his opening-round four-set victory over American Marco Giron.

“It feels like I haven’t played tennis in a while and I haven’t played matches in a while,” De Minaur said. “The body never forgets. It’s a shame, but every day I’m feeling a little bit better.

“It’s all about trying to my best with the body at the moment, trying to make sure I’m somewhat ready to play the following matches. It’s a lot of tennis being played, which I haven’t been able to do for a long time…

“I feel something there. It’s obviously not as fluid as I would like to be moving out there. I’m missing on my sliding from side to side, which I can’t really do at the moment, but we keep on going.”

The 25-year-old reeled off five straight games to steal the opening set from a quick-starting Virtanen before the Finn, down a break at 1-2 in the second set, signalled to the chair umpire he required treatment for a back problem.

The second set was a write-off, but the world No.125 stuck with De Minaur as neither player faltered on serve in the third set.

Three hefty first serves from Virtanen – one at match point down –forced the tiebreak after the clash had passed the two-hour mark before Australia’s No.1 closed it out on his fourth opportunity.

Aussies in action – US Open

RESULTS
Men’s singles, second round
[10] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [Q] Otto Virtanen (FIN)
Jordan Thompson (AUS) d [7] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 7-6(2) 6-1 7-5
Chris O’Connell (AUS) d [Q] Mattia Bellucci (ITA) 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3
Nuno Borges (POR) d Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 6-4 7-5 7-5

> READ: Thompson stuns world No.7 Hurkacz at US Open 2024

COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
Max Purcell (AUS) v [14] Tommy Paul (USA)
[WC] Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) v Jakub Mensik (CZE)

Men’s singles, third round
[28] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Chris O’Connell (AUS) v [1] Jannik Sinner (ITA)
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v [30] Matteo Arnaldi (ITA)
[10] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v TBC

> VIEW: US Open 2024 men’s singles draw

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