Lucky loser Buyunchaokete inflicted Rafael Jodar’s heaviest defeat of the season on Wednesday at the US Open, where the Spaniard won just four games in the first-round clash that was rescheduled from Tuesday due to rain.
The 19-year-old Jodar has been one of the stories of the 2026 ATP Tour season. A champion in Marrakech, the Spaniard has jumped from outside the Top 100 to the brink of the Top 10, reaching the final in Washington, the semis in Montreal and the last eight at Roland Garros.
Yet, the World No. 13 was way off his usual level against China’s Buyunchaokete, who triumphed 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the second round at a major for the first time. The 12th seed Jodar committed 37 unforced errors and struck just 15 winners, while he did not force a break point on the Buyunchaokete serve throughout the one-hour, 48-minute clash.
"I'm new on the tour. There are going to be things like this because I'm new," Jodar said in his post-match press conference. "[I] just try to learn from it so it doesn't happen again. First time can happen to anyone. We are human. Second time, it could be bad if I haven't learned from this one."
Buyunchaokete was competing in the first round at a Slam for the seventh time and the third in New York and had previously never triumphed. The 24-year-old, who has been as high as No. 64 in the PIF ATP Rankings but currently sits at No. 124, has won two ATP Challenger titles in 2026, with his win against Jodar his first tour-level victory of the year.
The Chinese star will next meet Fabian Marozsan or Michael Zheng after earning just the third Top-20 triumph of his career.
Jodar is currently ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and is aiming to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. The Spaniard ends the North American hard-court summer swing holding a 10-4 record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
While Jodar lost, there was success for another young Spaniard. Daniel Merida, a champion in Umag this year, downed 23rd seed Andrey Rublev 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round on his US Open debut. The World No. 39 next plays Alex Michelsen.
Alex de Minaur's first-round match was also rescheduled from Tuesday and the Australian made a winning start in New York. The sixth seed moved past Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 and will next face Botic van de Zandschulp.
De Minaur is a three-time US Open quarter-finalist, having enjoyed runs to that stage in 2020, 2024 and 2025. Last month, the 27-year-old reached the fourth round in Cincinnati, losing to eventual champion Arthur Fils, who is already out of the US Open.
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