We’re only through two rounds, but Stefanos Tsitsipas is having himself a nice US Open. He started with an upset of No 10 seed Arthur Fils in the first round and has followed it up tonight by taking down Lloyd Harris 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. The Greek man is into a grand slam third round for the first time since Roland Garros 2024 and the US Open third round for the first time in five years. Tsitsipas’s backhand finally looks to be working again, and he’s fun to watch when he’s locked in.
Carlos Alcaraz holds in both of his service games and it’s 2-1 to start. He didn’t drop a point in either of those games, and his serve is looking good so far: he’s averaging a speed of 109mph and won the third game with an ace.
Tiafoe Update: the American finally got a well-earned break in the second set and is up 6-5. This second set has been tighter than the first, but if he can hold serve against Rei Sakamoto, he’ll have a comfortable at two sets to love.
Carlos Alcaraz is in the same brown basketball-inspired kit for this match.
It’s almost time for Carlos Alcaraz v Jaime Faria at Ashe.
Alcaraz looked good on Monday in his first match after four months away with a wrist injury. The Spaniard said he was “pain-free” in his opener, a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Roman Safiullin. We’ll see if he can continue that play tonight. An area to watch will be his serve. He kept his serves at a low speed – just as he had in the mixed doubles with Serena Williams last week – averaging just 113mph behind his first serve.
Related: ‘Pain-free’ Alcaraz brushes aside qualifier in US Open return after four months out
No 18 seed Jiri Lehecka has beaten Toby Samuel in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. The 23-year-old Brit was looking to reach the third round of a grand slam for the first time but falls short.
Lehecka, a quarter-finalist in New York last year, will face either Lloyd Harris or Stefanos Tsitsipas. That match is a good one right now: Tsitsipas is up two sets to one, having pulled out the third in a tiebreak.
Frances Tiafoe and Rei Sakamoto are locked in a tight second set on Armstrong.
“It’s always the best atmosphere,” Aryna Sabalenka tells the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd after her win. “I’m happy with the level I played today, happy with the focus.”
She’ll face Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan in the third round.
We thought Karolina Muchova’s 6-1, 6-0 battering of Katie Boulter in 58 minutes would be the most dominant match we’d see today. This one may take the edge.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka made quick work of qualifier Polina Iatcenko, needing just 53 minutes. It’s one of Sabalenka’s quickest matches this year: per Tennis Abstract, it’s just the third match in 2026 she has played that lasted less than an hour. Iatcenko, in her first year playing in the main draw, didn’t offer much of a threat, and Sabalenka dominated with 24 winners, three aces and eight of 11 net points won. She still had some moments of frustration; both players finished with 16 unforced errors. But Sabalenka gets a quick, confident win – the kind she’s been looking for amid a choppy stretch of play since her spring double at Indian Wells and Miami – and her win streak at the US Open improves to 16 straight matches.
Aryna Sabalenka lets her service game go to deuce, but responds with an emphatic forehand winner and then watches Polina Iatcenko’s return land long. She’ll have a chance to break Iatchenko for the match.
Three unforced errors in a row for Aryna Sabalenka gave Polina Iatcenko the break at 1-3, but Sabalenka returned with a few ruthless winners to break her right back.
Aryna Sabalenka is rolling. Have you heard that already? Polina Iatcenko is looking a bit overwhelmed, down 0-3 in the second set. She has five unforced errors this set. Sabalenka will serve to try to go up 4-0.
Tiafoe Alert: the American won the first set 6-3.
Polina Iatcenko got on the board and earned a nice applause from the Ashe crowd, but Aryna Sabalenka held her serve and took the set 6-1. The world No 1 is moving fast: the first set took just 24 minutes. She isn’t letting Iatcenko play any long rallies, and she’s come up to the net after her serve on several points to win with volleys. Sabalenka is 29-2 when she wins the first set at the US Open. She let Camila Osorio climb back into the match during the second set of their first-rounder, so we’ll see if anything similar plays out tonight, but she’s looked dominant thus far.
Elsewhere, Frances Tiafoe is up 5-2 on Rei Sakamoto . Their fifth game went to six deuces and 18 points before a pair of unforced errors ruined Sakamoto’s chance for a break.
Aryna Sabalenka is rolling. She’s up 5-0 in the first. Twelve winners, 23 points won.
That’s a nice win for Denis Shapovalov to set up a third-round meeting with Ben Shelton. The Canadian was up 5-1 in the third set before letting Luca Van Assche climb back into the match and force a tiebreak. The final was 6-0, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7). In the women’s draw, rising American star Iva Jovic beat Magdalena Fręch 7-5, 6-3. Jovic will face Brit Francesca Jones in the second round.
With that, the longest first round in US Open history is over.
Opponents of Aryna Sabalenka can watch their matches snowball quickly if they give up an early break. Polina Iatcenko may be the latest to learn that tonight. Sabalenka is up 3-0 after just 11 minutes. She delivered a 106mph serve for the hold.
After having his tournament opener against Andrea Guerrieri postponed until day four, Alex de Minaur had to endure another two-hour rain delay before putting away the Italian qualifier in straight sets.
Related: Alex de Minaur finally reaches US Open second round amid scheduling backlog
No orange for Sabalenka tonight! She’s opted for the black Nike set instead.
After a rainy two days at Flushing Meadows, the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium is open for tonight’s matches. Aryna Sabalenka enters with a 15-match winning streak at the US Open. Polina Iatcenko is playing in the main draw here for the first time.
In some other quick updates from around the grounds, Stefanos Tsitsipas rallied to win the second set against Lloyd Harris. Brit Toby Samuel is trailing Jiri Lehecka 4-6, 1-5.
Hello from New York! I’m here to keep you updated for the big matches of the night session.
Aryna Sabalenka continues her quest for a third US Open title against qualifier Polina Iatcenko in the first match on Ashe. The world No 1 – for now – eased through the first set of her opening match against Camila Osorio and faced some bumps in the second, but managed to sail through.
After her, Carlos Alcaraz faces Portugal’s Jaime Faria . He looked strong in his opener against Roman Safiullin on Monday, his first match back from a four-month injury layoff. The Spaniard won in straight sets, and his wrist seemed to hold up against Safiullin’s heavy ground strokes.
There’s a good list of other matches happening tonight that I’ll be monitoring: Elina Svitolina v Maya Joint, Lanlana Tararuddee v Linda Noskova, Rei Sakamoto v Frances Tiafoe among them.
Ella will be here shortly to take you through those matches, along with the unresolved business from the day session , with Jovic a set up, Tsitsipas a set down and Samuel a break down at 5-4 in the opening set having led Lehecka 3-1. And all of this after wins for Ben Shelton, Jessica Pegula, Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur, Jasmine Paolini, Marta Kostyuk, Emma Navarro and Britain’s Fran Jones, but defeats for Andrey Rublev, Rafael Jodar and the British trio of Katie Boulter, Jan Choinski and Jacob Fearnley. I’ll be back again tomorrow. Bye!
Related: Katie Boulter crashes out of US Open after Karolina Muchova nightmare
Carlos Alcaraz, with significantly more hair than he had this time last year, has been practising on Arthur Ashe, which means the night session is not far away. He’s on second, after the other defending champ, Aryna Sabalenka, while it’s Frances Tiafoe and the Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova on Louis Armstrong.
And history on Court 6, where the Peruvian Ignacio Buse has battled through in five sets to record his first win in New York and take out the American Marcos Giron, emulating his grandfather Eduardo, who last won a match at the US Open in 1958.
Etcheverry defeats Fearnley 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Well, well. Lightning may strike twice for Fearnley. Having held for 3-5, he’s got 15-40 on Etcheverry’s serve. But Fearnley fails to convert both break points, and three points later, Etcheverry has match point. The Argentinian’s ball toss goes awry, but he still manages to slam down an unreturned serve. Fearnley can’t pull off another escape to victory.
As for the two remaining Brits in action today: Fearnley is close to defeat, two sets to one and 5-2 down against Etcheverry, but don’t count him out just yet; he was trailing Martin Landaluce by exactly the same score in the first round, before improbably coming back to win in five. And Toby Samuel is under way against Jiri Lehecka, so far faring better than Katie Boulter did against Lehecka’s fellow Czech Karolina Muchova, because he leads 3-1.
Tsitsipas and Harris are into a first-set tie-break ; Iva Jovic is under way against Poland’s Magdalena Frech, as is Jelena Ostapenko in day II of her match against Germany’s Tatjana Maria, with Maria leading 3-2 with the break in the final set; and the American Michael Zheng, awarded a wildcard after making his mark on the grand slams this year, has beaten the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan in straight sets. Next for Zheng is the lucky loser Yunchaokete Bu, in a match of opportunity for both players.
You can read the rest of Tumaini’s report here:
Related: Katie Boulter crashes out of US Open after Karolina Muchova nightmare
With the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre at a standstill in the middle of a furious downpour and all eyes on the two stadium courts played under retractable roofs, there was nowhere for Katie Boulter to hide as her grand slam season came to a bitter end with an excruciating 6-1, 6-0 beating by the seventh seed Karolina Muchova in the second round of the US Open.
This has been a life changing summer for Boulter, who married her fellow player Alex de Minaur in July. However, after a promising start to the season that saw her win her fourth WTA title in Ostrava and return to the top 60 after her brilliant win over the world No 2 Elena Rybakina at Queen’s, things have stalled.
Until her first round win in Cincinnati last month, she had lost five consecutive matches, including a painful straight-sets loss in the first round of Wimbledon. Confidence has been hard to come by.
Boulter and Muchova had initially been scheduled to compete on Court 17 after the men’s first round match between the rising star Rafael Jodar and Yunchaokete Bu, but as heavy rain suspended play with Jodar, the 12th seed, shockingly trailing the Chinese lucky loser 2-6, 1-6, 1-4, Boulter and Muchova were quickly moved to Louis Armstrong Stadium. She was completely outclassed by a sublime Muchova, who employed her usual brand of silky, all-court shotmaking, lasering forehand winners past the British No 1 and sweeping forward to the net.
Muchova is competing for the first time since narrowly losing the Wimbledon final to her compatriot Linda Noskova after undergoing a “small surgery” but she has enjoyed an explosive start in New York. This win was preceded by a similarly dominant 6-3, 6-0 win over Sinja Kraus, her two wins early indications that she may well be in contention for another grand slam title.
Here’s Tumaini’s take on Muchova’s masterclass …
News of two more wins: Alex de Minaur has finished his demolition job against Italy’s Andrea Guerrieri, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, and will meet Jan Choinski’s conqueror, Botic van de Zandschulp, in the second round. And Emma Navarro, the former semi-finalist, has completed her comeback in the all-American affair with Caty McNally, winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. She’ll play Katie Boulter’s tormentor, Karolina Muchova, in the third round.
A fine win for Jones against Linette, a former Australian Open semi-finalist who was once ranked inside the world’s top 20, and it’s impressive how Jones dealt with the match being played over two days. She’s the first British winner today.
Jones is serving for the match at 6-4, 1-6, 5-3. After losing the opening point, a gutsy forehand gets her to 15-all, and she nudges 30-15 ahead. A lung-busting point plays out, and there’s plenty of drama, because a double bounce is called against Jones, Jones appeals … and after a lengthy wait the video review shows Jones was correct. They’ll replay the point. And Jones takes it for 40-15! Two match points … and Jones needs only one, because Linette lamps her return wide! It’s a first US Open main-draw win for the 25-year-old Brit, who’s hugging her team. Lovely scenes. And she could face the American star in the making, Iva Jovic, in the second round … so she could even be scheduled on one of the main courts.
Jones isn’t the only British player flourishing right now, because Fearnley has seized the third set 6-3 against Etcheverry . He still trails, though, by two sets to one.
From winning a 6-4 first set, to losing a 6-1 second set, and going 4-1 ahead in the third, Jones has experienced some big shifts in momentum against Linette , but the Brit is two games away from reaching the second round for the first time. The more experienced Linette holds to reduce her deficit to 4-2, but Jones, wearing a right arm sleeve a la Alcaraz (but hers is not because of an injury, instead the rare genetic condition she was born with that can cause muscle cramping and nerve issues), holds to 30 and now she’s a game away at 5-2!
Just about to start is Stefanos Tsitsipas v the South African Lloyd Harris . A rejuvenated Tsitsipas, after his first-round victory over Arthur Fils – who was many people’s dark horse to reach the final – is attempting to reach the third round of a slam for the first time in more than two years after all of his injury problems. He said after his win over Fils that ending his coaching relationship with his father has also helped him rediscover some form.
Frustratingly Sky isn’t showing De Minaur v Guerrieri , even as Demon moves closer to victory at 6-2, 6-2, 3-3, but at least it appears that one member of the De Minaur-Boulter household will be celebrating today.
The Jones v Linette match has a completely different feel to yesterday , with Jones, having resumed at 6-4 today, now into a decider after being dominated in the second set 6-1. Fearnley, meanwhile, is showing more variety in his game than he did before the rain interruption, coming to the net to take matters into his own hands, and he’s leading 3-2 on serve in the third set, having lost the first two 6-3, 6-3.
Bu has match point against Jodar at 40-15 … and Jodar nonchalantly swats away a return winner. But Bu seals the biggest win of his career when Jodar hits beyond the baseline on the second match point! Having burst on to the scene this year, the bubble has burst for the prodigious young talent from Madrid, but he’ll be back. I’m not sure if Jodar was injured, ill or just having a bad day, but what is certain is that Bu, the 24-year-old lucky loser from China who replaced the injured Thanasi Kokkinakis in the draw, has secured his first ever match win at a grand slam.
Just as Shelton finishes, play resumes on the other courts. Jacob Fearnley soon falls two sets down, 6-3, 6-3, against Tomas Martin Etcheverry; Fearnley’s fellow Brit Fran Jones, restarting at 6-4, has lost the first two games of the second set against Poland’s Magda Linette; Emma Navarro has taken the second set 6-2 to force a decider against her fellow American Caty McNally; Rafael Jodar is on the brink, surprisingly 6-2, 6-1, 5-1 down to the lucky loser Yunchaokete Bu; and Alex de Minaur has extended his lead over Andrea Guerrieri to 6-2, 6-2.
Shelton is asked on court by Annabel Croft what he’d say about the match if he was commentating . “I have no idea,” he replies. “I guess that’s why I’m not in the commentary box and I’m down here playing. It was a battle until the end. It was really tough to deal with everything he threw at me. But if I was commentating I’d talk about how loud this crowd was from start to finish. It’s been an up and down year [with four titles but some early grand slam exits] but I’m really ready to hit my stride.”
Shelton defeats Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 7-5
Shelton is two points from victory at 15-30 on Hurkacz’s serve. Hurkacz edges to 30-all, but the red lights flash on the net post as the Pole flings a forehand wide! At 30-40 it’s match point … and Shelton seals the victory when he cuts Hurkacz up with a slice! Eye balls bulging and fists pumping, the eighth seed celebrates wildly; he knows how dangerous a second-round opponent Hurkacz was. Shelton’s girlfriend, the NWSL and USA forward Trinity Rodman, wearing a T-shirt that says “I love my boyfriend”, is grinning in the stands too. There hasn’t been an American male singles winner at the US Open since 2003 … could this be the year? With Alcaraz’s fitness uncertain, Sinner absent and Djokovic departed, this could be the best chance Shelton’s ever had.
Boulter must now hold serve … which is something she’s not been able to do once … if she’s to stay in the match. She’s had all sorts of problems with her ball toss under the lights, and she quickly slumps 0-15 down. A longer second point plays out, but the crafty Czech has more variety and she eventually elicits the error. 0-30. 15-30. And a double fault gifts Muchova a match point. Muchova marmalises a return and last week’s mixed doubles champion is into the third round with a flawless performance. It’s a match the British No 1 will want to forget just as quickly as she departs from the court. Muchova will play Navarro or McNally next … and on this showing, the Wimbledon runner-up will take some beating this fortnight.
Boulter just can’t live with Muchova when the Czech is in this form, and it’s now 6-1, 4-0. This is surely an insurmountable lead. And before I even finish typing that sentence, Muchova makes it 6-1, 5-0. This is both brutal and beautiful.
Shelton is now 4-3 ahead on serve in the fourth set; break here and he’ll be serving for the match. But Hurkacz holds with little fuss and it’s 4-4 . Hurkacz has had a break point in this set, but Shelton saved it with one of those serves that are as big as his biceps.
Some more magic from Muchova – is there a more pleasing player to watch on the WTA Tour? She’s got every shot in the book – and Boulter is broken for the fifth time in five service games. And the Czech 7th seed backs up the break for 6-1, 3-0. The organisers be moving another match on to Louis Armstrong at this rate …
It’s slightly unfortunate for the players who haven’t yet completed their first-round matches that this second-round encounter got switched to Louis Armstrong , but the general rule is that matches must continue on the court they started on, otherwise I wouldn’t have been at all surprised to see Iva Jovic, the stupendously talented 18-year-old American, moved on to this court. The good news, though, for the players waiting in the locker room, is that the rain is abating, and play on the uncovered courts could be back under way in about 15 minutes’ time.
“Boulter needs to find a way to slow things down, she’s over-pressing out there, which is easy to do given Muchova’s range of shots. Don’t be afraid to hit three, four, five shots if needed,” observes Laura Robson on the Sky commentary. Boulter does have a break point at 30-40 in the opening game of the second set, but Muchova takes three points on the spin for 6-1, 1-0 , and an ominous stat for Boulter is that Muchova is 30-0 this season when she wins the first set.
Muchova breaks to 30 to complete her first-set domination 6-1 , and Boulter has been broken in all four of her service games. Boulter looks rather discombobulated out there, which would suggest it was a very late court change, and it’s certainly totally different playing under the lights and roof on Louis Armstrong compared with Stadium 17, where they would have been playing were it not for the rain.
Right, I’m back from my food (bolognese and pasta, in case you were wondering – sadly it wasn’t a $40 lobster roll or some $100 caviar-flecked chicken nuggets) – and Muchova is making light work of Boulter, leading 5-1 after 20 minutes . And this is Muchova’s first tournament since losing in the Wimbledon final. She’s such a talent. Shelton and Hurkacz aren’t moving at quite the same pace, with Shelton 2-1 up on serve in the fourth set, leading by two sets to one.
Related: Hospitality boom and $100 chicken nuggets: how the US Open became obscenely expensive
I’m going to step away to grab some food, but will be back shortly for Boulter v Muchova and the conclusion of Shelton v Hurkacz …
… and he brings up four set points at 6-2 when Hurkacz shanks a forehand! Shelton attempts an improbable winner off Hurkacz’s smash but it doesn’t land in. But he gets the job done with some heavy, heavy hitting. Shelton, the leading American hope in the men’s singles, is a set away from the third round at 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3).
Shelton is being pushed all the way in the third set , and has just entered a tie-break after he and Hurkacz split the first two sets, but Shelton suddenly presses the accelerator, and he’s roaring and bulging THOSE biceps when he races into a 3-0 lead. It’s a cut and paste of the previous sentence when he makes it 4-1, and then 5-2 …
So at the moment Shelton v Hurkacz is the only match taking place , but the silver lining is that Katie Boulter’s match against the Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova has been moved from Court 17 to Louis Armstrong, so the British No 1 will make her entrance shortly.
The rain means there’ll be no more play on the uncovered courts until at least 4pm New York time/9pm BST . The scores before the players departed were Fearnley 3-6, 3-5 Etcheverry (27), Navarro (26) 3-6, 5-2 McNally, Jodar (12) 2-6, 1-6, 1-4 Bu (!!!), De Minaur (6) 6-2, 4-2 Guerrieri, while Fran Jones was about to resume her first-round match against Poland’s Magda Linette after it was suspended when she was leading 6-4 yesterday.
Etcheverry, meanwhile, is serving for a two-set lead against Fearnley, moves to 40-15 and two set points … and then it starts raining. You couldn’t make it up. Play is suspended. If Fearnley finds a way back into this, I wonder if that’ll be the turning point.
Kostyuk, though, has the protection of the Louis Armstrong roof, and the 11th seed has match point at 40-30. Her bright red dress is a blur of colour as she produces some impressive defence, but it eventually breaks down. But she swiftly has another MP and Stephens swats wide! Kostyuk, one of the form players this summer, is into round three and she’s doing a little dance. It’s not quite the backflip that she’s capable of (she was a fine gymnast in her youth), but she says she’ll only do it again if she wins a slam. She’s definitely a contender here.
Kostyuk has a few choice words for herself as she charges forward to the drop shot (she’s such a fine athlete) but then bashes a backhand into the net. At 6-1, 5-5, she desperately wants to break Stephens here, and has the chance to do so at her advantage, but even her quick feet can’t chase down Stephens’s smash. Deuce. Advantage Kostyuk, another break point. And Stephens strikes long! Kostyuk, having led by a set and a break, before having to save a set point, will now serve for the match at 6-1, 6-5.
Alex de Minaur said he was “broken inside” after his fourth-round exit at Wimbledon, and he was similarly deflated after the French Open, but his first slam as a married man (after his wedding to Katie Boulter) seems to be lifting his spirits, because the sixth seed has sprinted through the opening set against Italy’s Andrea Guerrieri, taking it 6-2, and he already has a break at 3-2 in the second. It’s one of the first-round matches that didn’t get on yesterday.
While all that was happening, Hurkacz levelled up against Shelton on Arthur Ashe, having been a break down in the second set. I didn’t see it, but thankfully this will help…
Van de Zandschulp defeats Choinski 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (5)
But Fearnley just can’t buy a hold, and he drops serve again . So Etcheverry leads 6-3, 3-1, while Choinski is pulled back to 5-5 in the tie-break … VDZ is two points from victory, make that one because it’s quickly 6-5. The match point is, at least, on Choinski’s serve, but the Brit bashes a forehand long and this rain-delayed opening-round match is over. The good news for British fans: Fran Jones and Toby Samuel will follow on Court 5.
A glimmer for Fearnley as he breaks back for 1-2 in the second set … just as Choinski, his fellow Brit, embarks on a third-set tie-break, a breaker he must win if he’s to extend this match against Van de Zandschulp any further. VSZ blinks first, conceding the mini-break, and Choinski still has the mini-break as they change ends at 4-2 …
Fearnley’s serve hasn’t been good enough today, and for the fourth time in only six service games he’s broken, as he falls 6-3, 2-0 behind . Hurkacz, meanwhile, could steal the second set against Shelton, leading 5-4 and 30-40 on the American’s serve, but the big-serving lefty serves deep to Hurkacz’s backhand before firing a winner past the Pole’s forehand! The Arthur Ashe crowd definitely liked that. And Shelton survives from deuce. He leads 6-3, 5-5.
Kostyuk isn’t messing around. She’s secured the opening set 6-1 against Stephens . The Ukrainian 11th seed is in the same quarter of the draw as Aryna Sabalenka, but after semi-final appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon this summer, she’ll be hoping to go at least one better in New York, with the hard courts suiting her big-hitting game.
It’s been tight and tense, but Fearnley has lost the first set, 6-3, against Etcheverry, who’s been just a little sharper on serve. Choinski, meanwhile, is staying in touch with VDZ in the third set, leading 4-3 on serve, but is 6-3, 6-1 down in sets.
Merida knocks out Rublev 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4
Jodar has risen from world No 165 at the start of the year to No 13, and another player who’s also catapulted his way up the rankings is his fellow Spaniard Daniel Merida, who’s now at 39 having been at 180, and Merida has just recorded the biggest victory of his career, taking out the 23rd seed Andrey Rublev from a set down. And Merida has a winnable match in the third round, because he’ll face Nakashima’s conqueror Michelsen. So Rublev has a second-round exit to add to his first-round Wimbledon departure. It’s been a disappointing season for the combustible Russian, despite having Marat Safin in his corner.
If I had more eyes I’d also be watching Marta Kostyuk v Sloane Stephens , one of the breakout players of 2026 v the 2017 champion, but I can tell you Kostyuk leads 3-0 in the opening set. Meanwhile Emma Navarro, seeded only 26 at this tournament after her health struggles, is 5-3 down against her fellow American Caty McNally, and the new Rafa on the block, Rafael Jodar, trails 6-2 against the Chinese lucky loser Yunchaokete Bu. Which is a surprise given how seriously impressive the 19-year-old Jodar has been this year.
Ben Shelton, the highest-ranked American and 2023 semi-finalist, has got off to a strong start on Arthur Ashe, taking the first set 6-3 against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz , who’s the answer to one of tennis’s greatest quiz questions having ended Roger Federer’s grand slam career at Wimbledon five years ago. It’s 1-1 in the second set.
VDZ rams down a ninth ace and he’s two points from a two sets to love lead, at 6-3, 5-1, 30-all. A one-two punch straight out of the tennis textbook has Choinski on the ropes at set point. And a second-serve ace down the T delivers the second-set knockout. Choinski trails 6-3, 6-1.
Choinski isn’t the only British player on court, with Jacob Fearnley, the luckiest of lucky losers after his five-set escape act in the first round, taking on the Argentinian 27th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry as he bids to reach the US Open third round for the first time. After the pair traded an early break for 1-1, Fearnley has secured the first hold to lead 2-1.
Choinski, from 3-2 on serve in the opening set against Van de Zandschulp (I may call him VDZ from now on for RSI-reducing reasons), has not won another game and it’s 3-6, 0-1 . Choinski may be the son of professional ballet dancers but he’s looking pretty heavy on his feet right now. He does, at least, hold serve for 1-1 … but VDZ soon secures a break for 3-1 and the British No 3 is falling into a deeper hole against the player who knocked out Carlos Alcaraz in New York two years ago.
Meanwhile the man who defeated Medvedev in Cincinnati last month, Brandon Nakashima, has seen his dazzling hard-court summer come to an end, losing in straight sets in his American derby with Alex Michelsen. Michelsen awaits the winner of Andrey Rublev v Daniel Merida. Rublev is currently doing Rublev things, conceding the second and third sets after winning the first.
Medvedev then decides it’s time to do what grand slam champions do, stepping it up when it matters, breaking Gorzny for 6-1, 6-3, 6-5 … but he then does what he’s also prone to do, suddenly losing his concentration, and he’s facing break point at 30-40. The 2021 champion saves it … and he doesn’t give the young American another look-in, breezing through the next two points to advance to round three, where he’ll play either Arthur Rinderknech or Jaume Munar, who are locked at one set all.
Back on Louis Armstrong, Gorzny has held from deuce after duping Medvedev with an underarm serve, and he then produces a contender for point of the tournament when he spins, slides and somehow comes out on top in a rally he had no right to win! He has 0-30 on Medvedev’s serve. But Medvedev recovers to 30-all, and wraps up the game from there. Medvedev leads 6-1, 6-3, 5-5, but he’s not having everything his own way in this third set.
And news of two more wins (my head is spinning given the endless number of matches today): Russia’s Diana Shnaider , this year’s French Open semi-finalist, has seen off the former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6 (4), in the second round. And Paula Badosa, having resumed her first-round match today leading Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 5-4, has finally settled matters on her ninth match point, and her sixth of the day, holding serve for a 6-1, 6-4 triumph. “Going to sleep last night wasn’t easy,” she admits. The popular Spaniard, who was born in New York, had to miss the tournament last year because of injury but now has a meeting with Coco Gauff to look forward to.
Pegula will play Leylah Fernandez in round three, another former US Open finalist, who’s beaten Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1.
Pegula has the finish line in sight, leading Kenin 6-3, 5-1 and 30-0 on her serve. Make that 40-0. This has been relentless from the 2024 runner-up. Kenin clunks a wild return wide and Pegula has seen off her friend for the loss of only four games and seven points on serve and, at 56 minutes, it’s her second fastest victory of the season. Impressive numbers. And she could even end this tournament as the world No 1, if she wins her first grand slam title and Elena Rybakina fails to reach the semi-finals … not that she’s talking up her chances. “I like working hard, I love chasing, getting better at everything, knowing that I probably won’t get there, but that’s the point,” she says on court.
Thanks Daniel. Hello everyone! Townsend’s victory in the battle of the Taylors/Taylahs and Paolini’s win in the battle of the inis means that Paula Badosa is about to resume her rain-interrupted match, 6-1, 5-4 up on Daria Kasatkina, and Britain’s Jan Choinski will soon be getting going against the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, which is also a first-round match. Choinski v Van de Zandschulp in on Court 5, which is the place to be for British fans today, with Fran Jones and Toby Samuel to follow.
Righto, great news: Katy Murrells is here to croon you through the rest of the afternoon. Peace out.
Kenin just can’t get near Pegula, whose all-round game is too much for her. Against some of the bigger hitters, she can sometimes force errors – she took Anisimova to a third-set tiebreak at Wimbledon, for example – but Pegula doesn’t hit with the same ferocity, and it’s hard to be more consistent than her. She breaks and consolidates to lead 6-3 3-0.
Jasmine Paolini (19) beats Lucrezia Stefanini 6-4 6-1
Nakashima isn’t playing badly, at all, but such is tennis: an error, a winner, and suddenly a set disappears. Michelsen leads 6-3 6-4 and it’s a long way back from here.
We cut to Common, in a box, and our commentator claims minor glory in not knowing who he is. I’m almost minded to make him a playlist but in the meantime, Resurrection is one of the great hip-hop albums – and I also love Finding Forever, along with a load of singles.
Michelsen is proper into this now, consolidating to love for 6-3 5-3 while Paolini is almost there against Stefanini, up 6-4 5-1, and Cirstea, enjoying an amazing year – she’s now the oldest player ever to debut in the top 20, at 36 – leads Parry 6-2 4-2.
Pegula breaks Kenin to secure a 6-3 first set and is making light of a potentially tricky match-up against a good mate. Meantime, Michelsen whams a forehand down the middle to break Nakashima, and he now leads 6-3 4-3; that might be the decisive move.
Back with our US men derby, Michelsen leads Nakashima 6-3 3-3, and the match might just be here: if Michelsen goes up two sets, he’ll be hard to catch, but if Nakashima can level, it’s anyone’s. I wonder if the former has just a little bit more finesse, and if that might prove decisive.
Back on Ashe, Pegula leads Kenin 4-3, with a break, and looks the better player, as she is. Everything her opponent does, she does a bit better, which makes it hard to make an impression.
Medvedev is having his way with Gorzny, taking the second set 6-3 to lead 2-0; he looks in decent touch and moves beautifully for a man of his height, but doesn’t have a way of shortening points, which I think will count against him as he moves through the draw.
Rublev has taken the first set off Merida, winning the breaker 6-3. With Djokovic gone from his eighth, he’ll be eyeing a quarter-final spot but, as ever, his biggest battle will be with himself and, ultimately, I’m picking Berrettini to take it.
We’ve had our first result of the day, Taylor Townsend beating Taylah Preston 1 and 1. Next for her: Pliskova or Shnaider, on which point the Russian, who took the first sert 6-2, has broken back in the second, in which they’re now level at 3-3.
If we could just get one more, we’d have three little birds beside my net cord.
Singing sweet songs, of melodies pure and true, saying this is my forehand to you-oo-oo.
Before I’ve a chance to work out my move, the umpire stops a point mid-rally … because there are a pair of sparrows perched on the net. But they return, play resumes, and Medvedev leads 6-1 4-2.
Er, maybe Nakashima isn’t over the hump after all: from 2-0 up on Michelsen, he’s lost the first set 6-3. Elsewhere, Merida leads Rublev 6-5; Munar leads Rinderknech 4-2; Shnaider leads Pliskova 6-1 1-3; Paolini is serving for the first set against Stefanini and holds for 6-4; and Cirstea leads Parry 6-2 1-0 with a break.
Gorzny might’ve settled; he trails Medvedev 2-1 on serve in set two, having lost the first 6-1. Meantime, Martina notes that Pegula, having lost the 2024 final, will know she can win having got that close, which leaves me in something of a quandary. I have nothing to tell a genius of such all-time proportions, but I just can’t see how Pegula can go all the way in a major because at some point, she’ll face a better athlete with bigger weapons, playing well. So during that run, she beat Swiatek and Muchova but then lost to Sablenka … however, back to the now, she breaks Kenin immediately while, in the time it takes me to write this post, Medvedev breaks Gorzny for 6-1 3-1, consolidates to love, and I’m going to switch to a different match because this isn’t really a contest.
It’s unreal how empty Ashe is – it can’t be more than a sixth full, and probably not even that. I’ve not a clue why, but if tickets were cheaper I bet it wouldn’t be like this.
Gosh, what on earth are they doing with the umpires’ trainers sneakers? A shame I know only too well, for it reminds me of that time my parents sent me to school with a pair of Gola.
Nakashima and Michelsen are in that section too – on which point the latter has just taken three games on the spin to lead 3-2 in the first. Elsewhere, meanwhile Munar leads Rinderknech 3-0; Rublev and Merida are level at 3-3; Shnaider is up 5-0 on Pliskova; Paolini and Stefanini are level at 3-3; and to my chagrin, I’ve turned off the American men’s derby for one in the women’s: Pegula and Kenin are out.
Yup yup, Medvedev serves out to 15 and leads 6-1. Looking at his draw, he’s seeded to meet Tiafoe in round four – he’ll fancy that – then in the last eight, his prospective opponent, Novak Djokovic, is gone, but Mario Berrettini, unseeded but nasty, would be a difficult test if he wins a quarter that also includes Rublev.
Medvedev is looking good, though, breaking Gorzny again for 5-1. He’s cooky, but he’s a killer, and you can bet he thinks he can win this; I’d not be surprised if the absence of Sinner and Alcaraz’s injury have dialled him in in a way he hasn’t been in quite a while, hence all the behaviour.
Oh man, this is beautiful: Gorzny’s teammates at Texas University celebrating his first-round win.
It took him a while – the epic we’re hoping for looks eminnntly possible – but Nakashima has consolidated and now leads Michelsen 2-0.
Back on Armstrong, M edvedev still holds a break, up 3-1, and we learn that, in 2019, Gorzny had a seizure at a tournament, was given a 5% chance of survival, and made it. Or, as he put it, “I fell asleep, then I woke up.”
Just ask Jasmine Paolini, who got good pretty much out of nowhere at the end of her mid-20s and at 30 still is; she trails Stefanini 1-2 on serve.
And Nakashima breaks too – he’s hitting it hard off both wings and I wonder if he’s in the process of finding a new level. The first few times I watched him, I thought he had a bit of something and, real talk, I thought he’d be better by now than he is. But I really like what I’m seeing from him and, as we know, progress isn’t always linear.
It’s a good start for Medvedev, Gorzy – who saved five match points in round one – tamely ceding serve to 15.
Er, (Joel) Bats. Sky will now only allow one match, so it’s just Medvedev and Nakashima, I’m afraid, with updates form elsewhere. Off we go!
(Vasily) Rats. Sky won’t allow me to watch two matches on my big screen, so I’m dropping Rublev – for now.
The players are out on our various courts. Tennis is imminent.
OK, which matches am I going to watch? Well, I’ll absolutely be on Pegula v Kenin but that’s not away for half an hour so, prior to then, I’m going for Medvedev v Gorzny and Nakashima v Michelsen for sure, then I think, systems permitting, Paolini v Stefanini and Merida v Rublev.
The men’s competition could be a procession – if Carlos Alcaraz is ready, it’s hard to see anyone beating him, and the way he handled Roman Safiulin, a proper first-round test, was encouraging. Otherwise, though, I’m really excited to see how Rafael Jodar does and, despite myself, I wonder if Felix Auger-Aliassime might force himself over the hump – but only if Alcaraz isn’t fit enough to go the distance.
Anyway, back to the original question, the women’s competition is wide open and – unlike in the last decade and the early part of this, not because no one is that good but because loads of players are. The two I’d love to see do it are Karolina Muchova and Marta Kostyuk, but I quite fancy Amanda Anisimova with the ball sitting up for her to punish. She’s seeded to face Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round and Muchova in the quarters; tasty.
So who on earth is going to win these singles titles? Er, excuse while I interrupt myself, but I’ve just seen Arthur Fery, interviewed after his defeat to Lorenzo Musetti, confide that “I was a bit short today”; indeed. The Times actually ran a piece about this last week; it’s now 22 years since a man under 6”0 won a major – and that was Gaston Gaudio, on clay. And, as I’ve said before, I was once asked to approach an agent on behalf of a brilliant youngster and the first question that came back was … how tall is he?
Word up and welcome to the US Open 2026 – day four!
And, as you might expect, it’s yet another belter, so much so and – thanks in part to the rain – so, so sprawling, that’s it hard to know where discussion of it can possibly begin.
Early doors, we’ve got Daniil Medvedev opening up on Armstrong and, as a former champ, he’ll be eyeing what looks suspiciously like a power vacuum in the men’s competition. Elsewhere, meanwhile, we have a potential epic, the surging Brandon Nakashima – in Cincinatti last month, he reached the last four, beat Medvedev and Taylor Fritz en route – against Alex Michelsen.
Jasmine Paolini while, on Ashe, Jessica Pegula – seeking to become world no 1 and win her first major – faces Sofia Kenin, who has already achieved that second dream, in what might develop into a classic. Then, as the afternoon unfolds, we’ve Ben Shelton against Hubie Hurkacz and a match-up that is, indisputably, the stylist’s pick of the day, as Marta Kostyuk faces Sloane Stephens.
That is not even close to it. Emma Navarro, back in among it, meets Caty NcNally; Iva Jovic – who is nearing readiness for contention – resumes level at 4-4 with Magdalena Frech; Rafael Jodar returns; so too does Stefanos Tsitsipas, twice a grand slam finalist, whose first-round win over Arthur Fils was his best in a long while; and Katie Boulter must deal with the brilliant Karolina Muchová.
And if, to that, we add Jan Choinski, Jacob Fearnley, Francesca Jones and Toby Samuel – who takes on Jiri Lehecka – along with Alexander Bublik, Jelena Ostapenko, Mario Berrettini, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev – we have a day of action that feels unparalleled, but for the fact we’ll be back to do it all again tomorrow.
Carlos Alcaraz holds in both of his service games and it’s 2-1 to start. He didn’t drop a point in either of those games, and his serve is looking good so far: he’s averaging a speed of 109mph and won the third game with an ace.
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Ella Brockway(now), Katy Murrells and Daniel Harris (earlier). Published 3 Sept 2026, 12:57 am.
