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When the US Open draw was released, one of the matches that stood out was a clash between Nick Kyrgios and close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis. Kyrgios made sure the blockbuster matchup did not turn into an epic battle.

The 23rd seed defeated Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the second round at Flushing Meadows. He will play Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi for a place in the third round.

"Probably one of the most uncomfortable matches I've played in my career. I feel like we both had a game plan. We know our games so well. From the get-go, I was trying to block out his body and just play the tennis ball," Kyrgios said. "I was really trying not to look at him at all. I felt like that kind of helped me."

Kyrgios has shown the best form of his career in recent months, reaching the Wimbledon final, winning the Washington title and defeating World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in Montreal. He maintained that form inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday evening following Serena Williams' match, earning his 200th tour-level win after two hours and one minute.

"To play one of probably my best friends after Serena's possible last match, with a record-breaking attendance, it's insane," Kyrgios said. "A night I'm never going to forget. My 200th win as well. A couple accolades today. It was good."

As if a shock first-round exit at the US Open wasn’t painful enough, Stefanos Tsitsipas was also left ruing his lost shot at World No. 1 in the wake of his four-set defeat to Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan on Monday night.

The Greek was one of five players who had the opportunity at Flushing Meadows to hold the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking at the end of the tournament, but that dream is now gone.

“I was very motivated and pumped before the US Open started because I knew I could use this tournament to get closer to the No. 1 spot,” Tsitsipas said. “It would be very weird and very unusual if it didn’t cross my mind, because this is something I wanted since I was a kid and I know this is my chance now to step it up.

“It just didn’t go as planned. Sometimes you just need to let it go, you don’t need to overthink it, you don’t need to push yourself too hard but at the same time it’s difficult because there’s this open opportunity right in front of you, you don’t want to mess it up, you don’t want to waste it.

“My chances, I guess, are a bit smaller. The margin is not as thin as it used to be now after the US Open but I’m still going to try and add points to my ranking, as much as I can until the end of the year, I really want to perhaps finish in the Top 3… more opportunities ahead.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas appeared poised to escape a significant scare on Monday at the US Open, but qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan refused to let him slip from his grasp.

The Colombian earned the biggest win of his career inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, where he stunned the fourth seed 6-0, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 behind 41 winners to reach the second round at Flushing Meadows. The World No. 94 converted his ninth match point after two hours and 48 minutes on his main draw debut at the season’s final major.

"He dominated the match," Tsitsipas admitted. "I just couldn't get into it."

The 26-year-old, who did not lose a set in qualifying, won the first 11 games of the match against Tsitsipas with a stunning display of aggression. The Greek had his right forearm massaged several times, and it took until 54 minutes into the clash for him to win a game.

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American qualifier Brandon Holt claimed a statement win in his main-draw Grand Slam debut Monday night at the US Open, upsetting 10th-seeded countryman Taylor Fritz 6-7(3), 7-6(1), 6-3, 6-4 to charge into the second round at Flushing Meadows.

Holt, 24, the son of two-time US Open champion Tracy Austin, had not won a Tour-level match coming into the tournament. The World No. 303 had to win through qualifying at the ATP Challenger Tour level in Chicago in his final tournament before playing US Open qualifying.

The defeat is a blow to Fritz's hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals in November. The American is currently 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race to Turin and was hoping for a deep run at Flushing Meadows to move into the Top 8.

Holt turned professional in 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic began. Last year, Holt began to feel pain in his hand, which troubled him for months. After several doctor visits, he learned an osteoid osteoma, an extra bone growing on his fourth metacarpal.

The American had two options to deal with it, and chose the more invasive, but safer option. After undergoing the operation in August, Holt did not play the rest of 2021.

Felix Auger-Aliassime has a history of raising his game at the US Open, and the sixth seed needed to do just that to hold off Swiss qualifier Alexander Ritschard in the first round at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

Auger-Aliassime prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in an absorbing encounter that featured some devastating baseline hitting from both players. Despite some inspired shotmaking from Ritschard, the Canadian was more clinical at big moments, converting four from eight break point opportunities to complete a hard-earned three-hour, four-minute win.

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The boys’ singles champion at Flushing Meadows in 2016, Auger-Aliassime reached his maiden Grand Slam semi-final in New York a year ago. He showed flashes of the game that powered that run against Ritschard, with some big serving and trademark heavy striking off his forehand wing. Those weapons were particularly effective under pressure, as the 22-year-old saved 10 from 12 break points he faced.

The sixth seed appeared in control after claiming the solitary break in both the first and second sets on Grandstand, where both he and Ritschard predominately tried to dictate proceedings from deep. Despite Ritschard’s clean hitting taking the Swiss to the third set, the 2021 semi-finalist accelerated to an unassailable 5-1 lead in the fourth as he improved to 37-20 for the 2022 season.

J.J. Wolf gave the American charge at this year’s US Open a stunning start on Monday afternoon, when the World No. 87 cruised past 16th seed Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the second round at Flushing Meadows.

The 23-year-old wild card produced a dominant serving performance in a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory, firing 14 aces and winning 88 per cent (50/57) of points behind his first delivery against Bautista Agut.

Wolf has made good progress this season. He broke the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time on 1 August and celebrated that achievement by reaching his maiden tour-level quarter-final in Washington that same week.

The former Ohio State Buckeye reached the third round in New York on main-draw debut in 2020. He will attempt to match that run against Alejandro Tabilo in the second round this year, after the Chilean defeated Kamil Majchrzak 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1.

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All eyes are on Serena Williams as she begins her final US Open on Monday night against Danka Kovinic. In the leadup to the season’s final Grand Slam, several stars have paid tribute to the legendary WTA star, including Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Nadal has spoken about Williams several times in recent weeks and has been clear how important she has been within and beyond the tennis world.

“[She is a] huge ambassador that [broke] records. I think as an athlete… [she] has been one of the most important athletes in the history of the sport,” Nadal said. “So from the tennis perspective, it's a big loss that she is leaving. But on the other hand, she deserved all the things that she achieved because she worked enough to make that happen for such a long time, with a lot of determination, dedication, discipline. If not, all of this is impossible.”

Nadal added that he has one wish for when Williams’ career is over.

“I just believe and hope that if she is able to stay around the sport in some way, going to be great for our sport because I always believe that the sports are bigger when the legends of our sport are around the sport,” Nadal said. “And she's a legend. In some way I hope she will continue being involved in the world of tennis.”

Marin Cilic arrives at the US Open holding fond memories, having soared to his maiden Grand Slam title in New York in 2014.

The Croatian, who defeated Roger Federer en route to the trophy eight years ago, will be aiming to build on recent third-round results in Montreal and Cincinnati as he aims to replicate his dream 2014 run this year at the hard-court major.

Ahead of his opening match against Maximilian Marterer, ATPTour.com caught up with Cilic’s coach Ivan Cinkus to learn more about their relationship, the 33-year-old’s season, his upcoming aims and much more.

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Marin is having another great season, how happy have you been with his performances?
Marin is doing great. Reached the fourth round in Australia and semi-finals in his first two tournaments. He is improving his game. He played really well on the clay. Ok, he lost to Sascha Zverev in Madrid, but he played well and it built up his confidence and it helped him at Roland Garros. He played really well in Paris and reached the semis. It is really good.

Two college standouts were among a sweep of four first-time winners in the ATP Challenger Tour last week. Gabriel Diallo made the best possible use of a wild card as a home hope in Canada, while Monaco's Valentin Vacherot advanced through qualifying to capture his maiden Challenger Tour title in Nonthaburi.

Diallo, a Montreal native, defeated China’s Juncheng Shang 7-5, 7-6(5) to capture the Les Championnats Banque Nationale de Granby.

“I’m super happy, it’s a feeling I’ve never experienced before. I’ve won matches and tournaments before, but this just feels different. I didn’t have any expectations coming into the tournament,” Diallo said.

The 20-year-old is the youngest Canadian champion on the Challenger Tour since Felix Auger-Aliassime won the Tashkent Challenger in 2018.

Currently a senior at the University of Kentucky, Diallo will not be able to celebrate the biggest title of his career for long. He will instead fly back to the United States for his Monday afternoon lecture.

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray maintained his strong first-round record at the US Open on Monday, when he downed 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-3, 6-3.

The Scot, who lifted the trophy in New York in 2012, fired his backhand through the court, while he recovered from squandering a 5-2 lead in the first set to eventually advance after two hours and 41 minutes.

"It was very tricky conditions today," Murray said in his on-court interview. "Very humid and hot. I am very happy with the way I got through that one, it was not easy. He has had a brilliant year this year and I knew I had to play well and I did in the important moments."

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Murray is up six spots to No. 45 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings with his victory and has improved to 15-1 in first-round matches at the US Open. The 35-year-old will next face Australian John Millman or American wild card Emilio Nava. Murray coached by Ivan Lendl when he captured his maiden Grand Slam title in New York 10 years ago. The Czech coach was courtside during Murray's victory against Cerundolo.

Reigning champion Daniil Medvedev started his US Open title defence with victory Monday, cruising past American Stefan Kozlov 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 to reach the second round in New York.

The top seed, who defeated Novak Djokovic to lift his maiden major title in Flushing Meadows last year, quickly found his range on the hard courts. He struck his flat groundstrokes with consistency as he overpowered Kozlov to advance after two hours and one minute in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

The 26-year-old now holds a standout 21-4 record at the final Grand Slam of the year. The 14-time tour-level champion next plays Quentin Halys or Arthur Rinderknech as he looks to continue his quest to become the first player to win consecutive US Open titles since Roger Federer lifted the trophy for five consecutive years from 2004-08.

“I am pleased to win. Not easy conditions. Pretty hot and humid here,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I was sweating a lot but I thought there were some good points. I managed to be pretty solid and I thought the serve was key today. I am happy to go through to the second round.”

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#NextGenATP star Jiri Lehecka has caught himself by surprise this season. In February, the 20-year-old made the Rotterdam semi-finals as a qualifier and broke into the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, a mark that Lehecka couldn’t quite believe.

“The guy who did the post-match interview came to me and said, ‘Congrats! With this win, you achieved the Top 100!’ and I was like, ‘Woah, when? Unbelievable!’” Lehecka recalled.

The Czech No. 1 has continued to find success in 2022. Now an entrenched member of the ATP Tour and sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan, Lehecka still cites his roots on the ATP Challenger Tour as the foundation of his success, and even returned - with success - to the Challengers earlier this month.

Lehecka collected his third Challenger title three-weeks ago, when he defeated Spaniard Nicolas Alvarez Varona 6-4, 6-4 to win the Liberec Challenger in front of a home crowd.

“The fans there were just unbelievable,” Lehecka said. “The way they supported me the whole tournament, especially in the semi-final and final was unbelievable. I’m so glad I got this experience this year to play in front of my home crowd.”

Adrian Mannarino has jumped back into the Top 50 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings following his title run at the Winston-Salem Open. ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week, as of Monday, 29 August.

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No. 45 Adrian Mannarino, +20
The Frenchman has jumped to No. 45 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after he captured his second tour-level trophy in Winston-Salem. The 34-year-old, who saved four match points in his first-round match, did not drop another set all week to become the older champion in the tournament’s history and its first French winner. Read Winston-Salem Final Report & Watch Highlights.

View Latest Pepperstone ATP Rankings

No. 64 Laslo Djere, +25
The 27-year-old has soared 25 spots to No. 64 after he reached his first tour-level final of the season in Winston-Salem. The Serbian, who is a two-time ATP Tour champion, advanced in deciding sets in his first four matches before he downed Marc-Andrea Huesler in straight sets in the semi-finals. It was Djere’s first tour-level event since Umag in late July.

The US Open action kicks off Monday with a host of big names seeking a strong start at the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year. They include defending champion and top seed Daniil Medvedev, while regular doubles partners Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis meet in a blockbuster opening-round clash.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch on opening day at Flushing Meadows.

View Schedule | View Singles Draw

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1) ‘Special Ks’ Clash: Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis' close on- and off-court relationship has been a defining feature of their success as a doubles team in 2022, but how will the Australian duo react to being on opposite sides of the net?

Wu Yibing and Zhang Zhizhen were sitting in the US Open players’ dining room during a rain delay on Friday, one of the biggest days of both their careers. Wu, the 2017 US Open boys’ singles champion, had just qualified for the main draw for the season’s final major on his first attempt. Zhang was waiting to return to the court to attempt to do the same.

Yet instead of stressing the magnitude of the moment, the close friends had a phone on the table to stream an ATP Challenger Tour match between Shang Juncheng, a 17-year-old Chinese phenom, and Australian veteran Jordan Thompson. Shang would win the match and later advanced to the final of the tournament.

Wu, Zhang and Shang make up the future of men’s tennis in China. That future is looking bright.

When the rain delay ended, Zhang walked out to Court 7, confidently completed his victory to earn his place in the field and held his arms out in celebration. In the stands was Wu, who replicated the celebration.

“I am very happy that we both qualified because it’s quite tough,” Zhang said. “I know he had some injuries.”

Ben Shelton remembers riding around the Georgia Tech University tennis facility on a bike as a kid as his father, former ATP pro Bryan Shelton, coached the women’s team. Sometimes, young Ben would ride a scooter. At the time, tennis was far from his top priority.

The young American loved football first and foremost. A lefty quarterback, nothing was more thrilling than slinging a football around. Some of the school’s football stars would even stop by tennis matches and knowing the coach’s son enjoyed football, they would play catch with him.

“I kind of accepted at an early age that tennis probably wasn’t going to be his thing. I thought of team sports. He’s way more social than I was at that stage. I was more of an introvert and he’s a total extrovert. He’s loud and outgoing and has just so much energy,” Bryan said. “My parents wouldn’t let me play football and I always said if I had a son, and he wants to play, I’ll let him play.

“He just gravitated towards that. The whole time he was back there messing around I thought, ‘This guy’s going to be a pretty good football player one day.’”

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The ATP Tour’s finest head to New York this fortnight for their final opportunity to claim Grand Slam glory in 2022 at the US Open.

Daniil Medvedev defends his 2021 crown at Flushing Meadows, where the World No. 1 is seeking to hold off four rivals who have a chance of replacing the 26-year-old in top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. That group includes second seed Rafael Nadal, who is chasing his third Grand Slam crown of the season following his victories at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at 10 things to watch this week.

View Schedule | View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw

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What a difference a year makes.

Twelve months ago Botic van de Zandschulp set foot on American soil for the first time when he fronted up to play qualifying at Flushing Meadows. This year the 6' 3" Dutchman returns as the No. 21 seed after a dramatic rise that began with a fairytale run into the US Open main draw and ended with a second-week showdown with eventual champion Daniil Medvedev.

"It was really nice when I landed in New York for the first time last year," he said. "I like the big city. I saw New York sometimes from movies or a series, so to finally be here was great. And this year should be even more interesting from last year when things were quieter due to Covid."

Van de Zandschulp comes into the Open at a career-high No. 22 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and with a 28-21 record on the season. Last year, as the World No. 117, he rallied from a set down in all three qualifying matches, survived a five-setter in the first round of the main draw and then stunned then-World No. 11 Casper Ruud in the second round.

He also took out Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round before pushing Medvedev to four sets in the quarter-finals during his career-changing run. As he found time to reflect on the charge while vacationing in Dubai, where he went quad-biking, spent time at a water park and attended a friend's wedding, it all began to sink in.

When you play Jenson Brooksby, you know you will be in for a battle.

Since the American broke onto the Tour last July, fans have become accustomed to watching him chase down every shot and fight for every point, with hard work and commitment the foundations of his all-around game.

Next week, the 21-year-old competes on home soil at the US Open, where he is No. 43 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Just 18 months ago he was outside the Top 300, signifying the nature of his rapid rise.

“I think it has exceeded expectations a little bit in how fast I went up,” Brooksby told ATPTour.com when reflecting on the past year. “Not really in the level that I have got to because it is something I have believed I can get to from a young age, but just how fast I reached that level.

“It is really important to stay present and treat the whole process of how I got here the same and continue to build. I don’t want to get complacent with what I have done, with everyone being happy. You have to have your own standards with your team and yourself to push on again.”

Who has the upper hand on hard courts in 2022?

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of hard court tournaments leading into the US Open identifies Carlos Alcaraz as the peak performer, winning a tour-leading 54.12 per cent of points played on the surface. The data set includes players who have competed in a minimum of five hard-court matches so far this year.

The leading five players in the category are:

2022 Hard Courts Percentage Points Won
1. Carlos Alcaraz = 54.12% (1583/2925)
2. Daniil Medvedev = 54.04% (2685/4969)
3. Rafael Nadal = 53.85% (2042/3792)
4. Novak Djokovic = 53.40% (204/382)
5. Alexander Zverev = 53.36% (1301/2438)

Alcaraz is 14-4 on hard courts in 2022, including winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami. Alcaraz impressively defeated three Top 10 players (No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 8 Casper Ruud, No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz) to take the title while only dropping one set for the entire tournament (to Miomir Kecmanovic)