Former finalist Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov both booked their spots in the second round of qualifying at the US Open on Tuesday, but 17-year-old Moise Kouame suffered an opening-round defeat.
Nishikori, who reached the final in 2014 and the semi-finals in 2016 and 2018, is set to retire at the end of the season and is chasing his 11th main draw appearance in Flushing Meadows. The 36-year-old Japanese defeated Austrian Sebastian Ofner 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 and will next play American wild card Michael Antonius, who eased past #NextGenATP Briton Henry Searle 6-1, 6-2.
Former World No. 3 Dimitrov also began his qualification bid with a win Tuesday, when he dispatched Italian Lorenzo Giustino 6-0, 6-3. The Bulgarian defeated five-time champion Roger Federer en route to the semi-finals in 2019 and reached the quarter-finals in 2024.
Dimitrov is aiming to make his 15th main draw appearance at the hard-court major. The 35-year-old will next face Timofey Skatov, who soared past Gilles Arnaud Bailly 6-4, 6-2.
Elsewhere in qualifying, #NextGenATP star Kouame, who reached the third round at Roland Garros in May, fell to American Nishesh Basavareddy 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-3. Basavareddy recently stunned then-No. 9 Taylor Fritz in the opening round at Roland Garros, making his main draw debut at the clay-court major.
The two-time Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Basavareddy will next face Luka Mikrut, who defeated Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo 6-3, 6-4.
In other action, top seed Arthur Gea, who recently won his first ATP Tour title in Acapulco, also progressed with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win against Indian Sumit Nagal. Sixth seed Shintaro Mochizuki, who recently advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon before falling to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, downed American wild card Daniel Milavsky 7-6(5), 6-4.
The US Open main-draw action begins on Sunday, 30 August, with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic among those in action in New York City.
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