THE future of US men’s tennis was on show in Flushing Meadows with three of the four players out on court from the home nation winning and booking their spots in the US Open third round. Lead by young gun Brandon Nakashima who upset 17th seed Grigor Dimitrov, Frances Tiafoe and Jenson Brooksby also made their way into the Round of 32. Tiafoe was able to knock off gallant Australian Jason Kubler in three tight sets 7-6 7-5 7-6, while Brooksby took out the in-form Borna Coric, 6-4 7-6 6-1.

Nakashima took two hours and 23 minutes to shake off Dimitrov, winning 7-6 7-5 6-3 in a thriller and move through to the Round of 32. Both players served 12 aces, with Nakashima not producing a double fault compared with the Bulgarian’s five, as the American hit 32 winners and only 27 unforced errors. The home nation hope also won 80 and 61 per cent of his first and second serve points of a 68 per cent clip, and broke twice, albeit from 10 chances, while saving five break point opportunities for his opponent.

Tiafoe had to battle through three hours and 11 minutes against Wimbledon quarter finalist Kubler to move within one win of three consecutive fourth round appearances at Flushing Meadows. The American won via two tiebreakers and served one more ace (15-14), while both players produced six double faults. Tiafoe’s dominance off his serve was telling, winning 78 and 56 per cent of his first and second serve points, whiles producing eight more winners (47-38) and 15 less unforced errors (46-61) in the nail-biting victory.

Coming into their third round match, Croatian 25th seed Coric was coming off a blistering campaign a Cincinnati where he knocked out four Top 10 players in a ridiculous run of form to the title. That meant little in the heat of Flushing Meadows though, as Brooksby got the better of him in straight sets, 6-4 7-6 6-1. After a tight couple of sets, the American shook off his opponent in the third, having gone 12-10 in the second set tiebreak. Brooksby won 73 and 53 per cent of his first and second serve points, and won 73 per cent of his net points, while breaking four times to one in the match. Coric produced 10 more winners (41-31) but also 33 more unforced errors (67-34) as Brooksby came out on top.

The only other upset was Belarusian Ilya Ivashka‘s four-set win over eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz, with all the other major seeds advancing through to the third round. Spanish title chances Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz both moved through, as did top 15 seeds, Cameron Norrie, Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner, Diego Schwartzman and Marin Cilic. In other results, North American Denis Shapovalov booked his place in the third round, while Lorenzo Musetti, Daniel Evans, Holger Rune and Richard Gasquet also stamped their Round of 32 tickets.

US OPEN MEN’S SINGLES RESULTS: ROUND OF 64

[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) defeated Fabio Fognini (ITA) 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1
[3] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) defeated Federico Coria (ARG) 6-2 6-1 7-5
[7] Cameron Norrie (GBR) defeated Joao Sousa (POR) 6-4 6-4 7-6
Ilya Ivashka (BLR) defeated [8] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 6-4 4-6 7-6 6-3
[9] Andrey Rublev (RUS) defeated Soonwoo Kwon (KOR) 6-3 6-0 6-4
[11] Jannik Sinner (ITA) defeated Christopher Eubanks (USA) 6-4 7-6 6-2
[14] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) defeated Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 7-6 7-5 7-6
[15] Marin Cilic (CRO) defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 6-3 7-6 6-3
Brandon Nakashima (USA) defeated [17] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 7-6 7-5 6-3
[19] Denis Shapovalov (CAN) defeated Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-2
[20] Daniel Evans (GBR) defeated James Duckworth (AUS) 6-3 6-2 4-6 6-4
[22] Frances Tiafoe (USA) defeated Jason Kubler (AUS) 7-6 7-5 7-6
[26] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) defeated Gijs Brouwer (NED) 6-7 6-3 6-4 6-2
[28] Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune (DEN) defeated John Isner (USA) W/O
Jenson Brooksby (USA) defeated [25] Borna Coric (CRO) 6-4 7-6 6-1
Richard Gasquet (FRA) defeated [32] Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-4