Dane Sweeny's Stunning Upset at US Open
Dane Sweeny, all 170 centimetres of him, walked into Flushing Meadows as a wildcard and walked out on Friday as the man who rattled the US Open.
Facing Lorenzo Musetti, the 14th seed and a dual grand slam semi-finalist, the Australian produced the performance of his life, tearing through the Italian 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in a ruthless second-round upset.
He lost the first set. Then he took over.
Sweeny flips the script
Early on, it looked like a familiar tale. Musetti, ranked inside the world’s top 15 and armed with a smooth one-handed backhand, controlled the baseline and pocketed the opener 6-3. Sweeny, ranked more than 100 places lower, was supposed to fade.
He did the opposite.
Once he settled, Sweeny started dragging Musetti corner to corner, changing pace, changing height, changing the mood of the match. The underdog began to boss the rallies, stepping inside the court, taking time away, and turning the Italian’s variety against him.
The second set flashed by 6-1. The third was a statement.
Sweeny bolted to a double-break lead at 3-0, running Musetti ragged in the New York heat. The Italian slumped into his chair, calling for a medical time-out and looking increasingly distressed as the match tilted away from him. Even when he clawed one break back, frustration spilled out towards his courtside box, his body language telling the story long before the scoreboard did.
Sweeny never blinked. Ice pack or not.
Diving volleys and a career-changing win
Two days earlier, he had walked off court with a massive ice pack strapped to his right elbow after his first-round win. Against Musetti, there was no sign of hesitation. He hurled himself around the court, diving like Boris Becker for acrobatic volleys, turning defence into highlight-reel attack.
The scoreline tightened only in theory. On the court, Sweeny dictated. Another 6-2 set. Then another. A top-15 scalp secured in four sets and, with it, the biggest win of his career.
The reward is huge. A first-ever appearance in the third round of a grand slam. A guaranteed cheque of $US290,000. A surge towards a career-best ranking of at least No.115 in the world. And a last-32 showdown with another Italian, world No.22 Luciano Darderi, on Saturday.
For Sweeny, this is the kind of leap players spend years chasing.
"I'm just grateful to be even able to compete in grand slams. The tennis journey is such a rollercoaster," he said afterwards. "And to soak up the atmosphere and get a win, a couple of wins, in front of this crowd, is awesome."
On this evidence, the ride is only just starting.
Schoolkate’s run halted in the heat
For a while, it looked like a banner day for Australian underdogs.
Tristan Schoolkate, who had fought his way through qualifying, snatched the opening set from French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli and threatened to extend his own fairytale. The fifth seed, though, steadied under pressure.
In brutal New York summer conditions, Cobolli raised his level and began to lean on his heavier weight of shot, turning the match around to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 after two hours and 41 minutes. Schoolkate stayed with him, refused to go away, but the Italian’s class showed in the key moments.
The Australian’s inspired run ended there, but not before he’d left a clear impression of belonging at this level.
Popyrin edged out in tiebreak tension
On another court, Alexei Popyrin chased a return to the stage where he once stunned Novak Djokovic in the third round two years ago. Again he started fast. Again he walked off wondering what might have been.
Up against Chilean 25th seed Alejandro Tabilo, Popyrin came out firing, taking the first set 6-2 and looking every bit the aggressor. Then the margins tightened.
Tabilo dug in, dragged the contest into tiebreaks, and held his nerve when it mattered most. He pinched the second-set breaker 7-4, then repeated the trick in the third 7-3, flipping a match that had been leaning Australia’s way.
By the fourth set, the momentum belonged firmly to the Chilean. He closed it out 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to book what is likely to be a third-round clash with German top seed Alexander Zverev.
For Popyrin, it was another reminder of how thin the line can be at this level: two tiebreaks lost, a tournament campaign gone.
De Minaur waits in the wings
As the sun beat down and the stories stacked up, one more Australian was still to come.
Sixth seed Alex de Minaur was scheduled to follow Schoolkate on The Grandstand, set to face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. While he prepared, Sweeny had already changed the tone of the day for Australian tennis.
One wildcard, one giant toppled, and a new name forcing its way into the conversation in New York.
