Alcaraz wins opening match at US Open

New York: Carlos Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 15 straight Grand Slam matches with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Li Tu on Tuesday night in the first round of the U.S. Open.

The No. 3 seed from Spain won the French Open and Wimbledon titles earlier this year, giving him four major championships. If he can add another U.S. Open title to the one he captured in 2022, Alcaraz would join Rod Laver (1969) and Rafael Nadal (2010) as the only men to capture those three Grand Slam titles in the same year during the Open era.

Alcaraz played just one match since losing to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Olympics, then cut short a practice session before the U.S. Open as a precaution after twisting his right ankle. But he seemed to move fine over the final two sets against the qualifier from Australia and moved on to a second-round matchup Thursday against Botic van de Zandschulp.

America’s Sofia Kenin prevailed in a closely-contested showdown between Grand Slam champions at the US Open, beating Britain’s Emma Raducanu 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the first round.

Meanwhile, another Grand Slam champion, No.4 seed Elena Rybakina, also notched a first-round victory on Tuesday night, fending off Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava 6-1, 7-6(1) on the Grandstand.