Sascha Zverev escapes by the skin of his teeth again — and enters the history books

The second round of the US Open continued this Friday, and in the end, Sascha Zverev avoided a surprising elimination — which cannot be said for the world No. 4, Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Men

Sascha Zverev (1), perhaps the biggest favorite to go all the way, encountered unexpected difficulties and needed five sets already in the first round. This is exactly what happened to him in the second round as well: the Roland Garros champion, who was eliminated last year in the third round in New York, eventually passed the meeting with the Frenchman Quentin Halys (world No. 52), with 4:6, 6:4, 6:7 (3), 7:6 (3), 3:6 after 4:33 hours. Zverev entered the history books with a not-so-flattering statistic: in the Open Era, he is the first No. 1 seed ever to be dragged into five sets in the first two rounds of any Grand Slam.

Felix Auger-Aliassime (4), who reached the semifinals last year, was eliminated already in the second round of the US Open after a 7:6 (5), 3:6, 2:6, 2:6 loss to Karen Khachanov. The Canadian started well and took the first set, but later looked far from his peak and struggled physically, was broken seven times and lost control of the game. Khachanov, world No. 50, completed an impressive turnaround and advanced to the third round.

Roland Garros runner-up Flavio Cobolli (5) came back from a 2:0 deficit in sets in the first round and escaped by the skin of his teeth, and now it went a bit easier against the Australian Tristan Schoolkate (world No. 180) with 6:3, 3:6, 4:6, 5:7. The Italian has never passed the third round in the US and might do so this time.

Taylor Fritz (9), who reached the final in 2024 and hopes to finally provide the American crowd with a local champion, cruised to the third round with a masterclass against Mattia Bellucci. The American dismantled the world No. 95 0:6, 1:6, 1:6 and did not give him a chance from the first moment.

The surprise of the day came from world No. 70 Botic van de Zandschulp, who eliminated world No. 6 Alex de Minaur with 4:6, 5:7, 2:6.

Additional matches:

• Learner Tien (14, USA) — Gael Monfils (France) 3:6, 4:6, 3:6

• Jakub Mensik (17, Czech Republic) — Jurij Rodionov (Austria) 3:6, 6:3, 2:6, 3:6

• Luciano Darderi (21, Italy) — Dalibor Svrcina (Czech Republic) 3:6, 7:6 (5), 4:6, 4:6

• Francisco Cerundolo (24, Argentina) — Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany) 7:5, 5:7, 6:4, 2:6, 3:6

Women

Coco Gauff (4) worked hard to climb to the third round, but in the end, she did it with 4:6, 6:7 (5) over Paula Badosa, after two hours of play.

Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva (5) hopes to at least pass the third round in the US for the first time in her young career, and at least on paper, she is not supposed to encounter difficulties against the German Eva Lys (world No. 98).

Iga Swiatek (8), the 2022 champion, did not struggle against Nadia Podoroska and advanced to the third round of the US Open. The Pole, who is trying to return to the top after a less stable period, won 3:6, 2:6 against the Argentine ranked 449th in the world and completed a second consecutive victory in the tournament without losing a set.

Additional matches:

• Amanda Anisimova (10, USA) — Lily Taylor (Austria) 3:6, 6:3, 1:6

• Naomi Osaka (13, Japan) — Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) 2:6, 7:5, 1:6

• Elise Mertens (23, Belgium) — Maria Timofeeva (Uzbekistan) 2:6, 6:7 (5)