Key events
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.
Michelsen beats Nakashima 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
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 defeats Gorzny 6-1, 6-3, 7-5
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 defeats Kenin 6-3, 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
Next for her: Parry or Cirstea.
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.
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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, Medvedev 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?
Preamble
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.
Play: 11am local, 4pm BST
