Couacaud Qualifies For Third Major Of 2023

Frenchman Enzo Couacaud rallied from a set down Friday at the US Open to qualify for his third major appearance of the season.

The 28-year-old defeated Italian Giulio Zeppieri 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 after winning 90 per cent of first serve points. Couacaud, who advanced through qualifying at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, will look to improve upon his first-round appearance last year at Flushing Meadows, where he fell to 25th seed Borna Coric in five sets.

Couacaud won his opening-round match in Melbourne before taking a set against eventual champion Novak Djokovic. 

#NextGenATP Dominic Stricker also qualified on Friday, defeating Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-2, 6-3. Fourth seed Taro Daniel cruised past Argentine Francisco Comesana 6-1, 6-4. Finland’s Otto Virtanen pulled away Chinese teen Shang Juncheng 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-1 after two hours, one minute. 

Chinese Taipei’s Yu Hsiou Hsu, Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves and Kazakh Timofey Skatov also advanced to the main draw. 

In second-round qualifying action, Belgian Joris De Loore upset Maxime Cressy 6-7(11), 6-2, 7-6(9). Czech Tomas Machac defeated former US Open finalist Kevin Anderson 6-4, 7-5. The 17-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik downed Swiss Leandro Riedi 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

After rain forced several second-round qualifying matches to be moved to Friday, the remaining spots in the main draw will be filled upon the completion of qualifying Saturday.