Dane Sweeny, all 170 centimetres of him, walked into Flushing Meadows as a wildcard and walked off on Thursday night as the man who shook the US Open.
The diminutive Australian produced the performance of his life to dismantle 14th seed Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in a rollicking second-round upset that turned a side court into a cauldron.
Sweeny’s giant-killing night
For a set, the script looked familiar. Musetti, a dual grand slam semi-finalist and world No 14, settled quickly, used his variety, and pocketed the opener 6-3. The favourite was in control. The wildcard was supposed to fade.
Sweeny refused to play his part.
From the start of the second set, he ripped up the hierarchy. He stepped inside the baseline, took the ball early, and began dragging Musetti corner to corner. The Italian’s elegant game unravelled under a barrage of pace, angle and sheer persistence.
The scoreline turned brutal in a hurry: 6-1 to Sweeny in the second, then 6-2 in the third, as the Australian ran the 14th seed into the ground. Musetti, suddenly the one chasing, called for a medical time-out after falling behind a double break at 0-3 in that pivotal third set, looking in clear distress as he slumped into his chair.
Even when he clawed one break back, Musetti’s frustration boiled over. He barked towards his player box, gestured, argued with himself. Across the net, Sweeny stayed locked in, shrugging off the tape and the massive ice pack that had wrapped his right elbow after his first-round win.
The 25-year-old kept throwing himself around the court, diving like Boris Becker for acrobatic volleys and refusing to give an inch at the net. Musetti had the résumé; Sweeny had the legs, the lungs and the belief. The Italian never recovered.
By the time Sweeny sealed the fourth set 6-2, the upset felt inevitable. The world No 200-something had bullied a top-15 player into submission and punched his ticket to the third round of a grand slam for the first time.
The reward is hefty in every sense. A guaranteed pay day of $US290,000, a rankings surge to a career-high mark around No 115, and a last-32 clash on Saturday (AEST) with another Italian, world No 22 Luciano Darderi. More importantly, a statement: he belongs.
“I’m just grateful to be even able to compete in grand slams. The tennis journey is such a rollercoaster,” Sweeny said. “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 Sweeny might not be the only Australian story of the day.
Tristan Schoolkate, who had fought his way through qualifying, carried that momentum into his second-round clash with French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli. He snatched the opening set 6-3 and swung freely in New York’s oppressive heat, threatening another shock.
The Italian’s class eventually surfaced.
Cobolli tightened his game, cut out the errors and began to dictate from the back of the court. Schoolkate’s level dipped fractionally, just enough for the fifth seed to turn the match around, taking the next three sets 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in two hours and 41 minutes.
The Australian qualifier walked off beaten but not diminished, his inspired run finally stopped by a player firmly established at the top of the game.
Popyrin edged out in tiebreak tension
On another court, Alexei Popyrin briefly revived memories of his famous win over Novak Djokovic at this tournament two years ago.
The powerful Australian started fast against 25th seed Alejandro Tabilo, blitzing through the first set 6-2 and threatening to muscle his way back into the last 32 in New York.
Then came the knife-edge moments.
Tabilo steadied, matched Popyrin from the baseline and clung on in two tight tiebreaks that defined the contest. The Chilean edged the second set tiebreak 7-4, then repeated the trick 7-3 in the third, turning a one-set deficit into a commanding lead.
With the momentum gone, Popyrin faded in the fourth. Tabilo closed it out 6-2, booking what is likely to be a marquee third-round showdown with German top seed Alexander Zverev.
De Minaur waits in the wings
While Sweeny stole the headlines, Australia’s top hope was still to come.
Sixth seed Alex de Minaur was scheduled to face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp on The Grandstand after Schoolkate’s match, looking to plant another Australian flag deep into the draw.
On a day when an undersized wildcard tore up the script and ran a top-15 seed ragged, the question lingered around Flushing Meadows: how far can this new wave of Australians really go?
