Upset of the day
Barbora Krejcikova’s U.S. Open campaign ended almost as soon as it began Sunday, with Kamilla Rakhimova sending the two-time Grand Slam champion out in the first round and making her the first seeded player eliminated from the tournament.
Playing on Court 17, Rakhimova held her nerve in a tight opening set before pulling away for a 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory, adding another frustrating chapter to Krejcikova’s difficult Grand Slam season.
The 27th-seeded Czech has now exited in the opening round in three of the last four majors she has played, the most first-round Grand Slam defeats she has endured in a single season. Rakhimova, a Russian-Uzbekistani player, moves on to face the winner of Monday’s match between Japan’s Aoi Ito and Spain’s Oksana Selekhmeteva.
Quote of the day
Tommy Paul said the buildup to this year’s U.S. Open felt especially busy, with players seeming to arrive as early as the previous Sunday. While the crowded grounds have helped create high-quality practice sessions, he noted that gym space has been harder to come by as players rush to finish their final preparation before the tournament gets underway.
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— Tommy Paul
Love match
Tommy Paul wasn’t just focusing on winning his match Sunday afternoon, he was also dishing out some marriage advice after taking down Coleman Wong. Paul married his longtime girlfriend, Paige Lorenze, in July and after his victory, he was asked on court what marriage advice he would give to people.
“I don’t know, it’s still young. Everything has been good so far,” he said. “Just give her what she wants. Give her what she wants.”
The pair have dated since 2022, and Lorenze went viral two years later when Paul won the Queen’s Club Championships, and during the celebration she seemed to be pulling him toward her in the photos. In a recent podcast, Lorenze said that she was “obsessed” with the photo from that day and that she and Paul “were making so many jokes about it” in the week after it happened.
“I’m obsessed with that [picture of us with the trophy] … by the way, whenever something happens like this that is sort of like talked about a lot, I am making more jokes than anyone,” she said.