Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta sent 2020 champion Dominic Thiem packing 7-5 6-1 5-7 6-3 in the first round of the U.S. Open on Monday, as the Austrian wildcard struggled with his forehand on the long road back from injury.
Thiem reached his first Tour-level semi-final in more than a year at last month’s Swiss Open, a key milestone as he works to regain his form after a June 2021 wrist injury, but showed he still has work to do as he stumbled into 30 unforced forehand errors on Court 17.
Carreno Busta, fresh off his maiden Masters 1000 title in Montreal, overcame early jitters that saw him drop his serve in the first game to put up a comparatively clean performance, winning nearly two-thirds of his first-serve points a year after he crashed out in the opening round.
He next faces either Hugo Gaston of France or Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik.
Murray downs error-prone Cerundolo
Andy Murray powered into the second round of the U.S. Open with a comfortable 7-5 6-3 6-3 win over Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, as the former world number one rolled back the years at the scene of his first Grand Slam triumph a decade ago.
The 35-year-old Scot, who has battled various injuries in recent years, raced to a 5-2 lead early in the match but dropped his level slightly before edging a tight first set and breaking quickly in the next to put 24th seed Cerundolo under pressure on a sweltering hot Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
“It is obviously nice any time, especially in those conditions and early on in a slam to get through in straight sets,” said Murray. “He’s a top player, it was a good win for me.
“Mentally it’s not easy going into a five-set match in those conditions after the way the last few weeks have been for me, and I did well.
“I did well physically and mentally to put that to the back of my mind and find a way to get through.”
Murray staved off a comeback attempt by Cerundolo to take the second set for a commanding lead and showed little signs of stepping off the gas pedal, as his opponent continued to make life difficult for himself with unforced errors.
A double break in the third set allowed twice Wimbledon champion Murray to surge ahead 4-1 and he sealed the win when Cerundolo sent a return long.
Murray next faces American wildcard Emilio Nava.
Holt stuns fellow American Fritz in Grand Slam main draw debut
Qualifier Brandon Holt, the son of former two-time U.S. Open champion Tracy Austin, made a memorable Grand Slam main draw debut by staging an upset 6-7(3) 7-6(1) 6-3 6-4 win over fellow American 10th seed Taylor Fritz.
Ranked 303rd in the world, the 24-year-old Holt was awarded a qualifying wild card at Flushing Meadows and was making his Tour-level debut against Fritz, the highest-ranked American, at 12th.
Holt, who turned professional in 2020, was not even sure if he could continue playing tennis when he needed career-threatening surgery on his hand last year.
He did not play for the rest of 2021 and only returned to action at the feeder International Tennis Federation circuit in Cancun, Mexico, in January.
“I started the year ranked like 900-something after having an injury in my hand. I was out for like eight months. I basically had to start from scratch down there,” Holt told reporters.
“I did well my first three tournaments back. I won all three of them in a row after a long time off, a lot of hard work recovering. Yeah, from there to here has been a very quick upward tick. Hopefully, I can keep it going.”
For a place in the third round of the hardcourt Grand Slam, Holt will next play Argentine Pedro Cachin, who edged Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 1-6, 7-6(10-6) in a final set tiebreaker.
Holt said he did not exactly remember the advice he received before the match from his mother, who won the U.S. Open in 1979 and 1981.
“I don’t know what she said. Probably just ‘go have fun’. The same stuff, ‘enjoy it’,” Holt added.
“And I did. I found myself in some difficult situations, maybe I didn’t play quite as well as I could have in certain times, but then I played very well in other times.
“That’s tennis. Things are going to be up and down. Sometimes it was down, sometimes it was up. At the end of the day, it fell my way so I couldn’t be happier.”
For Fritz, it was a heartbreaking defeat at his home major, more so after his Wimbledon quarterfinal run when he went down to Rafael Nadal in a final-set tiebreaker.
“It sucks. I mean, feels awful,” Fritz said.
“Been playing really well. Had really high hopes. I feel like an idiot for thinking that I could win this thing, win the U.S. Open. I can’t go out and play a match like that. It sucks. I feel awful.”
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