Tennis-De Minaur survives first-set fright to beat unseeded Virtanen at U.S. Open

FILE PHOTO: Aug 31, 2022; Flushing, NY, USA; Alex de Minaur of Australia hits a shot against Cristian Garin of Chile on day three of the 2022 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Australia's 10th seed Alex de Minaur overcame a potential banana skin to beat Finland's big-hitting Otto Virtanen 7-5 6-1 7-6(3) on Grandstand to move into the third round of the U.S. Open on Thursday.

De Minaur is playing in his first tournament after pulling out of Wimbledon with a hip injury, with the 25-year-old also withdrawing from the singles at the Paris Olympics. He was also an injury doubt for the second round match against Virtanen.