It was a bit of a bloody Wednesday on the men’s side of the U.S. Open in New York, with two top-20 seeds losing and No. 5 seed Jack Draper being forced to withdraw due to an arm injury.
Draper, who made his deepest Grand-Slam run to the semifinals of last year’s U.S. Open, has been transparent about being in recovery from a bone bruise on his left arm. He announced the news on X before his scheduled second-round match against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, who advanced to the third round via walkover.
“I’m sorry to say I’ll be withdrawing from the US open,” the British No. 1 posted on X Wednesday. “I tried my very best to be here and give myself every chance to play but the discomfort in my arm has become too much and I have to do what is right and look after myself. Thank you for all the support.”
Belgium’s Raphael Collignon upset No. 12 seed Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a thriller which lasted 3 1/2 hours. Collignon, who overcame 17 double-faults and 61 unforced errors, broke Ruud at 5-5 in the fifth set and then clinched the win on his third match point to advance to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
“It was difficult,” Collignon said. “Casper is one of the toughest players in the world, and he wasn’t missing anything. My coach just told me to stay aggressive and take my chances when they came.”
No. 18 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain also saw his run come to an end. France’s Arthur Rinderknech eliminated him with a 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory. This comes just over two weeks after Rinderknech collapsed during a Cincinnati Open match and was forced to retire.
A few top seeds were able to survive the upset-heavy day of action. Fourth-seeded American Taylor Fritz advanced into the third round with a 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-4 win over South Africa’s Lloyd Harris.
No. 7 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia dropped the first set to Zachary Svajda, but rallied for a 6(5)-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win. He reached the third round of the U.S. Open for the 19th time in his career, a record he now shares with Roger Federer. Djokovic has never lost in the first two rounds at the New York tournament.
No. 20 Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic defeated Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-4, and will face Collignon in the third round.
–Field Level Media
