The men’s defending champion is also through to the third round, as Carlos Alcaraz came out on top after four sets with Jaime Faria in yesterday’s final fling on Arthur Ashe.
But the later comfort of the 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 win owed as much to Faria’s drop in level — especially on his own serve — as Alcaraz finding his rhythm.
Indeed, the opening set had the No. 2 seed flaying and will have been noted by his rivals for the title, should they meet later in the championship.
The mitigation is how early this is into Alcaraz’s comeback from wrist surgery and he will hope the improvements and resilience continue.
A third-round tie with Wu Yibing should provide the chance to build further into his comeback.
