US Open: Alex de Minaur records strong victory over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert

Alex de Minaur has started the US Open in promising fashion with a strong victory over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Alex de Minaur of Australia returns a shot during his men's singles first round match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France during day one of the 2019 US Open.

Alex de Minaur has started the US Open in promising fashion with a strong victory over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

The 20-year-old, who reached the third round in New York last year, started superbly against his experienced rival and then showed resilience when pressured in the latter stages.

The right-hander fell to the 48th ranked Herbert in their only previous encounter in a third set tiebreaker in Shenzhen last September.

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But the Sydney International champion started superbly today en route to a 6-4 6-2 6-7 (6) 7-5 victory in 3 hour 5 minutes.

Herbert, a champion doubles player who has renewed his focus on singles, began to work into the match in the third set and was able to close out a tough tiebreaker.

de Minaur, who started the North American summer with a triumph in the Atlanta Open, appeared to be under significant pressure in the fourth set.

The sole Australian man in action on the opening day, the Sydneysider retained his composure and was able to retrieve a service break to level at 4-all when the Frenchman double-faulted.

The world No 38 was able to break his rival to love to close out the match and set up a clash with 31st seed Cristian Garin.

The Chilean is a former French Open boys champion who struggled to make the transition to senior ranks before making a massive jump in the rankings in 2018.