The biggest name out so far
Felix Auger-Aliassime is gone. The third seed lost 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to Karen Khachanov on Thursday in the second round at Flushing Meadows, which makes him the highest seed to fall at this US Open.
Khachanov had not won a hard-court match all summer. None from three. He arrived in New York unseeded and ranked 50th, seven years removed from the No. 8 spot he held in 2019. Over three hours and twenty minutes he generated twenty break points and converted seven.
The head-to-head now reads 3-2 in the Russian’s favour.
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A first set that flattered the Canadian
Two breaks apiece early, then nothing across the last four games of the opener. The tie-break reached 5-5 before Auger-Aliassime broke Khachanov and took the next point on serve to claim it. That was the last thing that went right for him all evening.
Khachanov broke him in the first service game of the second set, then the third, then the fourth. The match went from a tight tie-break to a procession in about forty minutes. The winners column tells the rest of it: 37 for Khachanov against 30 unforced errors, 43 for Auger-Aliassime against 47.
A body that has not cooperated
Auger-Aliassime withdrew from the National Bank Open in Toronto last month with a back injury. He reached the fourth round in Cincinnati but moved poorly in the closing stages of his final match there. Khachanov saw something on Thursday as well.
“I am not sure but maybe he had some physical issues and that is part of our sport,” he said in his on-court interview. “I wish him to feel better and speedy recovery if he is injured, I don’t know. What I can say from my side is I tried to give my best performance. Fighting and I am super happy to get this win.”
Khachanov now waits on the winner of 32nd seed Ignacio Buse of Peru and France’s Benjamin Bonzi. A section of the draw that was built around the third seed has just been handed to a man who could not buy a win in August.
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