Tennis Atlantic

It’s official. Two days of uninterrupted play and 128 singles matches later, the field has been cut in half at the US Open.

Tuesday’s action saw favorites Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula advance to the second round. That left room for a few upsets. Danielle Collins was stunned by compatriot Caroline Dolehide in three sets. It looked to be business as usual for the 11-seed Collins as she cruised through the first set, 6-1, only to watch Dolehide methodically upset her, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.

It was hard to watch Felix Auger-Aliassime try to crack the code against Jakub Mensik of Poland yesterday on Court 5. After a slow start, FAA tried to kick into a higher gear but it was not enough to deny the Czech a place in the next round, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

In a battle of Greek heritage playing under the flags of Greece and Australia respectively, Thanasi Kokkinakis upset 11-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Grandstand court. Kokkinakis was elated after the win, as this matches his best result at the US Open in six main draws.

And now, some firsts: American Ashlyn Krueger, Canadian Gabriel Diallo, Australian Tristan Schoolkate and Japan’s Ena Shibahara all won their first ever main draw matches at a Major event. Here’s the reaction from California native Shibahara after the accomplishment.

Shibahara endured ups and downs in the match, which was decided by a 10 point tiebreak in the final set. The 26-year-old is a UCLA graduate who’s making a late break for greatness in the singles field. She came into the tournament at a career-high ranking of 217 and had to endure three qualifying matches to take on Daria Saville in the first round. That ranking will change dramatically.

Ashlyn Krueger’s big win was also less than predcitable but equally impressive. She was bageled in the first set by Shuai Zhang before roaring back to take the match, 0-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Tristan Schoolkate dropped the first two sets to Taro Daniel before grinding out a 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-4 slugfest in the summer heat of Queens.

Gabriel Diallo’s first win at a Major didn’t go the distance. He only needed four sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, to get past Jaume Munar. The 22-year-old Quebecois has drawn raucous crowds on the outer courts in his four matches over the last week, including qualifying. Towering above the court at over 2 meters (that’s 6’8″ to us philistines), he screams future superstar of the game.

And speaking of those outer courts, I have never encountered crowds of this magnitude for any round of the US Open. An attendance record was set on Monday, but no “News Flash” from the USTA came through about Tuesday’s numbers.

I love the enthusiasm of the fans. That said, I don’t love it.

I have suspected for years what I am now calling the Taylor Swift phenomena has occurred. Fans in Europe realize it is cheaper to come to New York for a Grand Slam than it is anywhere else. It’s like my Taylor Swift Summer. Last year, instead of paying $2,500 a ticket to take my teenage daughter to the Eras Tour in Philadelphia, I bought three tickets to see her in Gelsenkirchen, Germany for 250 Euros a piece. The same thing is going on here. The USTA should consider dialing it back a bit for the optimal fan experience, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Another change I’ve noticed is that the “casual” fan used to stick to the stadia for match viewing. There was a group of people who would stay in Ashe or Armstrong almost all day. There are way more outer courtheads now. Maybe that means more serious fans are now attending than ever before. I love this tournament more than any other sporting event in the World. I have been to Superbowls and World Series games and nothing compares to the US Open. I hope that the USTA can do a balancing act here. Otherwise, it will be simply one more old man complaint in my “it used to be better” file.

Tuesday concluded my US Open experience until next year. My next stop is Charlottesville, Virginia, for the ATP Challenger in October. Enjoy the rest of the tournament.

—S. Fogleman