Rafforzando i ragazzi australiani: i compagni cavalcano l'US Open fino al secondo turno

Australian tennis players Dane Sweeny and Tristan Schoolkate advanced to the second round of the US Open on Wednesday, joining a growing list of compatriots who survived the first week at Flushing Meadows. The victories came during a rain-interrupted day in New York that delayed outdoor play by nearly four hours. Sweeny reached the second round for the first time in his career, while Schoolkate secured his third consecutive appearance at this stage in New York. With these results, Australia has at least seven players remaining in the tournament. Sweeny, ranked 123rd in the world, defeated French opponent Corentin Moutet when the latter retired with an arm injury. The score stood at 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 3-0 in favor of the Australian when Moutet stopped playing. The 25-year-old Sweeny will earn approximately $266,000 in prize money from this result. This addition brings his total earnings for the current season to roughly $560,000, marking a career-best year that includes a round win at the Australian Open and qualification for Wimbledon. Sweeny entered the main draw via a reciprocal wildcard from Tennis Australia. He had originally been scheduled to compete in qualifying, but a series of withdrawals allowed Alexei Popyrin to enter the main draw based on his ranking, which freed up the wildcard slot for Sweeny. During the match, Moutet displayed his characteristic eccentricities, smashing a racquet that he later gave to a spectator and blowing a mocking kiss toward the sky after an ace. Despite having strapping on his left arm throughout the contest, Moutet committed a double fault at 4-4 in the second set, leading to a crucial break of serve. He conceded a second break in the third set before retiring. Sweeny, who is listed at 170 centimeters on the ATP website, expressed excitement about his upcoming second-round opponent, Italian Lorenzo Musetti. Sweeny described Musetti as one of the world’s best players and stated he was eager to test himself against such high-level competition. Tristan Schoolkate followed Sweeny into the second round earlier in the day, defeating fellow qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy with a score of 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Schoolkate noted that he watched the scoreboard during his match to track Sweeny’s progress, describing the pair as close friends who have known each other for a long time. Both players expressed mutual support, with Sweeny stating he is always rooting for the Australian men. Schoolkate credited his recent success in qualifying matches for boosting his confidence, calling his performance against Basavareddy likely the best he has played at the venue. His next opponent will be Italian Flavio Cobolli. Earlier in the tournament, Australian wildcard Taylah Preston became the first local player to advance past the first round. The 20-year-old from Western Australia defeated American Alycia Parks in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Preston saved three break points in the fourth game of the first set before breaking Parks’s serve in the ninth game to take the opener. Although Parks broke Preston’s serve in the opening game of the second set, the Australian recovered to win five consecutive games to close out the match. Preston, ranked 100th, will face either 20th-seeded Polish player Maja Chwalinska or American Taylor Townsend in the next round. She described her victory as special, noting that while she is glad her first Grand Slam win occurred in Australia, she hopes to continue advancing at all majors. Other Australian players exited in the first round on the opening day. Talia Gibson fell to Croatian Donna Vekic in three sets, with the final score 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Gibson had rallied from being down a set and a break, but failed to convert four break points in the deciding set, including a 0-40 advantage on her own serve. She acknowledged that making more unforced errors was the reason for her defeat. Storm Hunter and Adam Walton also suffered first-round losses. In the men’s singles, Aleksandar Vukic was suspended mid-match against Japan’s Rei Sakamoto due to rain. Vukic, ranked 96th, was trailing 3-4 in the fifth set after a match that had lasted three hours and 11 minutes. In the women’s singles, Daria Kasatkina, Australia’s top-ranked female player, was trailing 6-1, 1-2 against Spanish former world number two Paula Badosa when rain forced the suspension of play. Meanwhile, Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew from his scheduled match against rising Spanish star Rafael Jodar due to an ankle injury. Alex de Minaur, the sixth seed and leading Australian hope, has not yet begun his campaign. He is scheduled to play against 187th-ranked Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri. De Minaur has not lost in the first round at the US Open previously.