Svrcina downs Meligeni Alves in straight sets in US Open qualifying

Dalibor Svrcina moved a win away from the US Open main draw, beating Felipe Meligeni Alves 6-3 6-4 in the qualifying quarterfinals without dropping a set. The Czech's first delivery was the difference: he landed only 55.4 percent of them but won 77.8 percent of those points, against 68.3 percent for the Brazilian, and struck eight aces to seven. Both men struggled behind the second ball, Svrcina winning 37.9 percent and Meligeni Alves just 31 percent, and the five double faults from the winner never proved costly. It was an efficient hard-court performance on the biggest stage of the qualifying event.