WHAT HAPPENED: At the 2017 US Open, Pablo Carreno Busta had a fairy tale ride to the semifinals. On his way to a career best Grand Slam result, the lanky Spaniard played four qualifiers and did not play a high-ranked player until he lost to Kevin Anderson.
On Tuesday, the No. 12 seed had an equally smooth start to this year’s Open by beating Tunisian Malek Jaziri 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.
Carreno Busta had to be pleased with the workmanlike win on a sun-baked Court 4 as he was on the court for less than two hours on an oppressive and steamy afternoon that left players drained and spectators looking for any shade they could find.
Last year’s semifinal run here at Flushing Meadows was the exclamation point on a breakout year for the 27-year-old. He finished at a career-high No. 10 in the world.
He has continued his strong play through this season. Carreno Busta began the year by reaching the Australian Open fourth round for the first time and has been a semifinalist four times on the ATP Tour along with reaching the Italian Open quarterfinals.
Carreno Busta showcased his strong all-around game against Jaziri in the pair’s first meeting since 2011. From the baseline he pounded the ball deep and hard off both sides and threw in the occasional deft drop touch to keep the Tunisian off balance. When needed Carreno Busta attacked strongly and exhibited soft hands with his angled volleys.
After a competitive first set, Carreno Busta grabbed control of the match in the opening games of the middle set. He dropped just two points in racing out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back as he ran through the closing games.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN: Carreno Busta is one of 11 Spanish men who started the 2018 US Open, tying France for second most in this year’s tournament behind the host country with 18. Four Spanish players are seeded, led by defending champion and world No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Carreno Busta would have had a second-round matchup against compatriot Marcel Granollers. Instead he'll face Portugal's Joao Sousa, who defeated Granollers on Tuesday.
MATCH POINT: This is the fifth consecutive year that Carreno Busta won his first-round match at the Open. His winning here should not be that unexpected as he has a career match record of 142-128 on hard courts.
