ATP Tour

Sweeny shocks Musetti for US Open R3 spot, Van de Zandschulp upsets De Minaur

Dane Sweeny continues to make his mark on his US Open debut.

The 25-year-old Australian scored the biggest win of his career on Thursday, when he stunned 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round of a major for the first time. Sweeny, the No. 123 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, had never competed at the New York major before — not even in qualifying — but has now earned back-to-back tour-level wins for the first time.

“I’m so grateful to even be able to compete in Grand Slams,” Sweeny said in his on-court interview. “I’ve put a lot of work in. The tennis journey is such a rollercoaster. I’m so incredibly grateful to play in front of such an awesome crowd, and to soak up this moment and get a couple wins, it’s awesome.”

Known for his heart-on-sleeve performances, Sweeny fought back to level the match when Musetti began to struggle physically. The Italian had difficulty moving at the start of the third set and subsequently took an off-court medical timeout after falling behind 0-3.

When he returned, Musetti twice managed to claw back a break, but Sweeny continued to surge forward with his gritty all-court game. The Australian repeatedly applied pressure and outlasted Musetti in a number of punishing baseline exchanges, using his dogged defence to frustrate the 13th seed before securing a two-hour, 36-minute victory on Stadium 17.

With his run in New York — which began with a two-set lead against Corentin Moutet before the Frenchman retired — Sweeny has climbed 14 spots to No. 109 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He will next face another Italian, 21st seed Luciano Darderi.

Sweeny now owns five tour-level wins, with his first main-draw victory at a major coming earlier this year at the Australian Open, where he memorably defeated former Top 10 star Gael Monfils.

While Sweeny advanced, his countryman Alex de Minaur’s campaign came to an end later in the day, as Botic van de Zandschulp once again found his best tennis on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows.

Two years after shocking Carlos Alcaraz in the second round, the Dutchman earned another memorable win Thursday night, when he stunned sixth-seeded De Minaur 6-4, 7-5, 6-2. The 30-year-old dropped his serve just once during the two-hour, 43-minute clash to book his place in the third round.

The hard-court major has become something of a happy hunting ground for the Dutchman. In 2021, Van de Zandschulp, as a qualifier, reached the quarter-finals on his tournament debut, becoming only the third men’s qualifier in the Open Era to advance to the last eight before he fell to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev.

"I like the conditions playing here in the United States," Van de Zandschulp said following his win. "New York is an unbelievable city. I always like the crowds and the atmosphere here. Tonight was amazing again."

By defeating the World No. 7 De Minaur, Van de Zandschulp earned his second Top 10 win in two months, having ousted the then-World No. 6 Medvedev in the second round in Montreal last month. With the victory, the 30-year-old earned his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head win in five attempts against De Minaur.