Dane Sweeny Upsets Lorenzo Musetti at US Open
Dane Sweeny detonated one of the stories of the US Open, turning a routine second-round assignment for Lorenzo Musetti into a full-blown upset that will echo well beyond New York.
The 25-year-old Australian wildcard, barely known outside diehard tennis circles and standing just 170cm, tore through the 14th seed 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 on Friday morning (AEST). On paper, it was a mismatch. On court, it became a mauling.
Sweeny flips the script
Musetti, a dual grand slam semi-finalist and firmly established in the top 20, started like a man in control. He pocketed the opening set 6-3, using his weight of shot and variety to keep Sweeny at arm’s length. It looked exactly like the kind of match a seeded star navigates without fuss.
Then the match turned.
Sweeny ripped through the second set 6-1, suddenly dictating with his feet and his nerve. He ran, chased, slid, and lunged, forcing Musetti into longer rallies and uglier decisions. The Italian’s elegant game began to fray under the constant pressure.
By the third set, Sweeny wasn’t just hanging in. He was bossing it.
He broke twice to lead 3-0, dragging Musetti all over the baseline and up to the net, and leaving the 14th seed looking increasingly uncomfortable in the brutal New York heat. Musetti called for a medical time-out, visibly in distress, but the Australian refused to blink.
Even after Musetti clawed one break back, frustration spilled out. The Italian repeatedly turned to his box, gesturing, complaining, searching for answers that weren’t there. Across the net, Sweeny simply tightened his grip.
The underdog closed out the third set 6-2, then repeated the dose in the fourth by the same scoreline, running away with the contest in two hours of relentless, gutsy tennis. Ranked more than 100 spots below his opponent, Sweeny had not only stunned a top seed; he had outplayed him for three straight sets.
Diving volleys and a career breakthrough
Sweeny came into the match with his right elbow heavily iced after his first-round win. It didn’t slow him. He threw himself around the court, at times diving like Boris Becker for acrobatic, full-stretch volleys at the net, winning points that drew roars from the crowd and visibly deflated Musetti.
This was not a lucky break or a bad day for a favourite. It was a wildcard seizing the biggest stage of his life and refusing to let go.
The reward is enormous. Sweeny reaches the third round of a grand slam for the first time, locks in at least $US290,000 ($A402,750) in prize money, and is set for a rankings jump to a career-high mark of around 115 in the world, or better.
He also earns another shot at a big scalp: a last-32 clash on Saturday (AEST) with Italian world number 22 Luciano Darderi.
"I'm just grateful to be even able to compete in grand slams. The tennis journey is such a rollercoaster," Sweeny said. "And to soak up the atmosphere and get a win, a couple of wins, in front of this crowd, is awesome."
On this evidence, the ride might just be getting started.
Schoolkate’s run ends in the heat
For a while, it looked like an Australian wave might sweep through the draw.
Tristan Schoolkate, who had fought his way through qualifying, struck first blood against French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli, taking the opening set 6-3. The fifth seed suddenly had a problem on his hands.
But as the temperature climbed, Cobolli’s class and conditioning told. He steadied on serve, tightened his baseline game and began to pin Schoolkate back. The Italian turned the match around to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 after two hours and 41 minutes in New York’s scorching summer heat.
Schoolkate walked off with a four-set loss, but also with the validation that his game belongs on this stage.
Popyrin falls short in another New York epic
Alexei Popyrin knows what it feels like to own a night at the US Open. Two years ago, he stunned Novak Djokovic in the third round and briefly hijacked the tournament narrative.
This time, he couldn’t quite recapture that magic.
Facing 25th seed Alejandro Tabilo, Popyrin burst out of the blocks, taking the first set 6-2 and threatening another deep run in New York. The Chilean, though, dug in and refused to yield.
The match tightened into a serving duel, and the margins shrank to a few key points. Tabilo edged the second-set tiebreak 7-4, then repeated the trick in the third-set breaker 7-3. Each time, Popyrin had chances. Each time, Tabilo held his nerve.
With the momentum firmly on his side, the South American closed out the fourth set 6-2 to seal a 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory and book what is likely to be a third-round showdown with German top seed Alexander Zverev.
For Popyrin, it was another bruising reminder of how quickly a grand slam campaign can swing on a handful of points.
De Minaur waiting in the wings
While Sweeny stole the headlines, another Australian contender was still to take the court. Sixth seed Alex de Minaur was scheduled to face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp on The Grandstand following Schoolkate’s match.
Australia has seen its share of hard-court heroes in New York. On this day, though, it was the smallest man in the Australian contingent who landed the biggest punch.
Now the question hangs over Flushing Meadows: was this Sweeny’s one-off giant-killing, or the moment a new name forced its way into the conversation at the sharp end of the sport?
