Aug. 26 (UPI) — Carlos Alcaraz said he “couldn’t get a rhythm,” but still managed to oust American Reilly Opelka in straight sets in his first match of the 2025 U.S. Open.
The second-ranked Spaniard broke his No. 67 foe three times and totaled just 17 unforced errors, compared to Opelka’s 32, in the 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 match Monday in Flushing, N.Y.
“I couldn’t get the rhythm that I wanted to get in the match, but I’m just really happy with everything I’ve done,” Alcaraz said on the ESPN broadcast. “I think the return was one of the best things I did, and then I just tried to play my best tennis, tried to be focused on my serve.
“Overall, I think I had a really great performance.”
Alcaraz will take on No. 65 Mattia Bellucci of Italy in the second round. Bellucci beat No. 111 Juncheng Shang of China in his first-round match. The winner of the Alcaraz-Bellucci meeting will battle No. 34 Luciano Darderi of Italy or No. 127 Eliot Spizzirri of the United States in the third round.
No. 5 Jack Draper of Great Britain, No. 9 Karen Khachanov of Russia, No. 11 Holger Rune of Denmark, No. 12 Casper Ruud of Norway, No. 15 Andrey Rublev of Russia and No. 17 Frances Tiafoe of the United States were among the other top men to advance on Day 2 of the Grand Slam.
No. 5 Mirra Andreeva of Russia was the top women’s player to take the court Monday in Flushing. She needed just 55 minutes to oust No. 56 Alycia Parks of the United States. Andreeva broke the American six times and totaled just five unforced errors, compared to 28 for her foe.
Andreeva will take on No. 53 Anastasia Potapova of Russia in the second round. The winner of that match will battle No. 26 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia or No. 139 Taylor Townsend of the United States in the third round.
No. 6 Madison Keys of the United States exited early through a first-round upset loss to No. 82 Renata Zarazua of Mexico. Zarazua will face No. 107 Diane Parry of France in the second round. Parry needed just 52 minutes to oust No. 543 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.
No. 97 Anna Bondar of Hungary earned another Top 10 upset when she bounced No. 15 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in an 80-minute, straight-sets win.
No. 10 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, No. 13 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic beat American wildcard Venus Williams (No. 602) 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.
No. 18 Daria Kasatkina of Australia, No. 20 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium, No. 62 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and No. 64 Maria Sakkari of Greece were among the other top women’s players to advance.
No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland, No. 3 Coco Gauff of the Unite States, No. 9 Amanda Anisimova of the United States, No. 12 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia, No. 17 Diana Shnaider of Russia, No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil, No. 24 Naomi Osaka of Japan and No. 27 Sofia Kenin of the United States will be among the notable women’s players in action on Day 3 of the U.S. Open.
No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy, No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany, No. 8 Alex de Minaur of Australia, No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy and No. 14 Tommy Paul of the United States will be the top players active on the men’s singles circuit.
Streaming coverage of the 2025 U.S. Open will air daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. EDT on ESPN+. Additional Day 3 coverage will air from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on ESPN and from 7 to 11 p.m. on ESPN2.
