The last set said everything
Denis Shapovalov beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of the US Open on Sunday. Two hours and change of even tennis, then a fourth set that was not close.
Kecmanovic hung with him through three sets. He took the second 6-4 and held on to 4-4 in the third. Once Shapovalov broke to lead 5-4 there, the Serb had nothing left for the fourth, and lost it in twenty-odd minutes of tennis.
The body held up. That is not a small thing for Shapovalov, who retired hurt in his opening match at the National Bank Open in Montreal a few weeks ago, in front of a home crowd, and had barely played since.
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New York has been kind to him before
Flushing Meadows gave Shapovalov his first deep run at a major. He reached the quarter-finals here in 2020, beating Taylor Fritz and David Goffin on the way before losing to Pablo Carreno Busta in five sets. The Wimbledon semi-final followed in 2021.
The Canadian has spent the seasons since trying to string fit months together. Four-set wins in the first round are not what he came for, but they are how a fortnight starts.
Carreno Busta, incidentally, also played on Sunday. The Spaniard went five sets against Jiri Lehecka and lost 6-1, 7-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.
Day one in numbers
The 2026 US Open is paying a record $108 million, twenty percent up on 2025. Reaching round two is worth $190,000. The champion in each singles draw takes $5.5 million and 2,000 ranking points.
Jannik Sinner is not in the draw. The world No. 1 withdrew on August 21 with a right knee injury, handing Alexander Zverev the top seeding. Carlos Alcaraz defends the title as the second seed and opens on Monday against Roman Safiullin.
First-round matches run through Tuesday, September 1.
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