Stefanos Tsitsipas
NEW YORK — Seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas became the latest upset victim at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, falling in the second round to Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Ending the four-hour match with a forehand winner that just caught the baseline, the 128th-ranked Stricker raised his hands and flopped on his back to celebrate his first-ever victory over a top-10 player in only his third Grand Slam appearance.
“I’m just super happy right now,” Stricker told the Grandstand crowd. “I came out and felt good from the first set on. … I just kept playing high-level tennis.”
Tsitsipas, a Grand Slam finalist at the Australian and French opens, still has never advanced beyond the third round at Flushing Meadows. The Greek is the second-highest seed to go down after No. 4 Holger Rune of Denmark lost to 63rd-ranked Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena.
Earlier, Coco Gauff cruised into the third round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva.
The sixth-seeded American approached the net 18 times, winning 15 of those points, in her second straight match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, and she credited that newfound net game after struggling to beat German Laura Siegemund in three sets in the first round.
“I learned to be aggressive,” the 19-year-old Gauff said in her on-court interview. “I did well making her play off her back foot.”
Andreeva, at 16 the youngest woman in the tournament, previously reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the third round at the French, also losing to Gauff.
Gauff next faces 32nd-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium, who came back to beat American Danielle Collins 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-1.
Elsewhere in early action, 15th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland downed British qualifier Yuriko Lily Miyazaki 6-3, 6-3.
Also on Ashe, Novak Djokovic faced Bernabe Zapata Miralles, to be followed by No. 10 seed Frances Tiafoe against Sebastian Ofner, and Caroline Wozniacki against 11th-seeded Petra Kvitova.