NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 05: Taylor Fritz of the United States reacts against Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina during their Men’s Singles Third Round match on Day Seven of the 2026 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 05, 2026 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Getty Images
After a particularly brutal day at the U.S. Open on Saturday, 10 American men and women still remain in the Round of 16.
That is the most at any major since 11 (four men, seven women) at the 2002 U.S. Open.
The five U.S. men reaching the fourth round – No. 8 Ben Shelton, No. 11 Frances Tiafoe, No. 14 Learner Tien, No. 20 Tommy Paul and Alex Michelsen — is the most since eight in 1995.
An American man, of course, hasn’t won a major since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open.
Taylor Fritz, the No. 2-ranked American and a finalist in 2024, won’t be playing in the fourth round after he surrendered a two-sets-to-love lead over No. 21 Francisco Cerúndolo of Argentina, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
The loss was especially stunning since Fritz hadn’t dropped a set coming into the third round.
Asked if the scale of his disappointment was “pretty high,” Fritz said:
“I mean yeah. I don’t even know what to say. I don’t really want to talk to anybody, see anybody. I kind of just need to get out for a couple days and get back to work. I don’t know how I let that happen today.”
In the men’s draw, former Columbia University star Michael Zheng, fell in five sets to Lucky Loser Arthur Gea of France, 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Zheng, the two-time NCAA Singles champion, drew big crowds of Columbia fans to his matches in New York and reached the third round at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in what has been a terrific summer for him.
No. 14 Learner Tien advanced to his first Round of 16 at the Open with a five-set win over No. 17 Jakub Mensik, 6-3, 1-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Two American women, No. 10 Amanda Anisimova and 22 Madison Keys, also went out on Saturday.
Anisimova, a finalist a year ago at her home Slam, was dominated by Anastasia Potapova of Belgium, 6-2, 7-5, while Keys blew a 5-0 lead in the third set and fell to former Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng, 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5.
“I feel like I got off to a really good lead and then I just got really scared,” Keys said before admitting she’s battling some mental health issues. “I felt like I couldn’t swing. Tennis just feels really hard right now. I feel like that kind of took over.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 05: Madison Keys of the United States reacts against Qinwen Zheng of China during their Women’s Singles Third Round match on Day Seven of the 2026 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 05, 2026 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Getty Images
She added:
“I think my level dropped and she started to play better.”
“I just feel like I’ve kind of been struggling for a while now and I feel like I was able to play through it for a bit. I’m sure everyone could kind of see that I was struggling a bit. Inside it’s felt probably even bigger than that. Some weeks are easier than others. This week is obviously one of the harder ones just because you care so much. I’m gonna have to make some sort of changes.”
She continued:
“I think it’s been something that’s been building for a while. I just kind of keep pushing it off and pushing it off because that’s how the tennis world works. It’s just to the point where I actually need to do something about it.”
No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion and a favorite to win the title again, did advance Saturday over Cristina Bucsa, 6-3, 6-4 and will next face fellow American Iva Jovic in the fourth round on Monday.
No. 14 Jovic eliminated Filipino star Alex Eala, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, in a highly entertaining and competitive match in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 18-year-old became the youngest American woman to make the fourth round at three majors in one year since Venus Williams in 1998.
On Sunday, several Americans will be on display, with Taylor Townsend facing two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the day session on Arthur Ashe followed by Paul taking on defending champion and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz.
In the night session on Ashe, Shelton faces a resurgent Stefanos Tsitsipas, followed by No. 26 Emma Navarro against No. 21 Anna Kalinskaya.
Tiafoe, who loves playing on Louis Armstrong, will attempt to continue his run there against former U.S. Open champion and No. 7 Daniil Medvedev, followed by No. 3 Jessica Pegula against No. 16 Sorana Cîrstea of Romania.
Mickelsen faces Argentina’s Tomás Etcheverry on Grandstand. Etcheverry defeated 24-time major champ Novak Djokovic in the first round and then backed it up with a win over former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini.
Be the first to comment