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Three biggest upsets on Day 2 of U.S. Open
Day 2 of the 2024 U.S. Open saw top-ranked men's players Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz coast into the second round with comfortable first-round wins. Similarly, top-seeded women's stars such as Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula got off to triumphant starts.
However, the action-packed day of tennis was not devoid of a few significant upsets.
World No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
The former two-time Grand Slam finalist fell to World No. 84 Thanasi Kokkinakis, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, after a three-hour, 55-minute battle at Grandstand. Australia's Kokkinakis fired 47 winners to Tsitsipas' 44 and seemed in total control of the match after a hard-fought tiebreaker to win the first set.
Tsitsipas has struggled to make noise at Flushing Meadows since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in their epic five-set showdown in 2021. Since that loss, he's gone 1-3 at the North American major. In fact, Tsitsipas has never advanced past the third round at the venue, a surprising outcome considering his impressive record on other hard court surfaces, which includes a trip to the finals of the 2023 Australian Open.
The 25-year-old Greek star was in the news earlier in August for his publicized split with his coach, his father Apostolos. Tsitsipas' first major without his father by his side didn't end on a good note.
World No. 11 Danielle Collins (USA)
The 2022 Australian Open finalist was knocked out by fellow American Caroline Dolehide following a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss. The result was particularly shocking after Collins breezed to a first-set win and was up a break in the second. However, a few unforced errors on her part allowed the younger Dolehide to seize control. After the match, Collins refused a bouquet of flowers in honor of her impending retirement. The 30-year-old made it clear she didn't want the attention.
Danielle Collins explains why she didn’t want a ceremony or bouquet of flowers after playing her last ever US Open singles match
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 27, 2024
“I’m not somebody that likes to celebrate my accomplishments. I’ve struggled with feeling guilt around success. I’m not great about having an all… pic.twitter.com/OHLVqkAEiU
While Collins is eliminated, several top-ranked Americans remain alive in their home major. That list includes Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Madison Keys — all of whom won their first-round matches to advance on Monday/Tuesday.
World No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)
While a loss to a former four-time major winner and World No. 1 Naomi Osaka isn't technically "an upset," Ostapenko entered the contest seeded 10th against the unseeded Japanese star. Osaka — who skipped most of 2022 and 2023 with injuries and maternity leave — only returned to the Tour earlier this year and hadn't looked her old self since.
However, Osaka showed flashes of a former two-time U.S. Open winner on Tuesday, dominating Ostapenko with a 6-3, 6-2 win to set up a second-round clash against Czechia's Karolina Muchova.
As for Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open winner was likely caught off guard running into an opponent of Osaka's caliber in the first round. The unusual event obviously worked against her.
More must-reads:
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TODAY'S BEST
Women's Tennis Star Amanda Anisimova Stuns In 'Gorgeous' Dress
Amanda Anisimova is hoping to end her incredible 2025 season with the biggest victory of her career. Back in July, the 24-year-old American solidified her status as a world-class player by defeating Aryna Sabalenka to reach the Wimbledon final. Although she suffered a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Iga Swiatek, she bounced back nicely at the US Open and made her second consecutive Grand Slam final. Unfortunately for Anisimova, she fell short to Sabalenka in the US Open final. She was obviously upset with the result, but she didn't allow that to break her spirit. “She was playing very aggressive and doing all the right things, so she made it very difficult for me today,” Anisimova said following the loss, via ESPN. “I mean, I didn’t win today, so of course, I didn’t do enough. That’s just the reality, and I have to accept that. I feel like if I fought harder, then maybe I would have given myself more of a chance, but I feel like I was really kind of in the backseat today.” How would Anisimova respond to yet another crushing defeat? Let's just say she went on an incredible run at the China Open to capture her second WTA 1000 title. Anisimova's success this season has earned her a spot in the WTA Finals. With that tournament set to begin this weekend, she had one more night out to enjoy herself. On Thursday night, Anisimova posted a photo of her wearing a black dress on her Instagram Story. WTA Finals preview. The 2025 WTA Finals will run from Nov. 1-8 in Saudi Arabia. This tournament features the eight highest-ranked singles players. If Anisimova wants to win the WTA Finals, she'll need to handle business in the Serena Williams Group. As we previously mentioned, she'll take on Rybakina this Saturday. Her group also features Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys. The Steffi Graff Group, meanwhile, includes Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini.
Seahawks GM's comments offer clue at potential NFL trade deadline partners
If there was any question about whether the Seattle Seahawks should be buyers or sellers going into the NFL trade deadline, last night's crushing victory over the Washington Commanders answered it. After eight games played, Seattle has a top-five scoring offense, a top-five scoring defense and a special teams unit that's making high-impact plays routine. That gives the Seahawks all the reason in the world to be aggressive at the trade deadline, and the latest reporting suggests that's exactly what they're going to do. General manager John Schneider may have offered a hint in his pre-game radio hit with KIRO, saying that the Seahawks spoke with teams at the Maryland-Indiana game on Saturday. That give us an idea of who they might be dealing with, based on the reports of the other teams who sent personnel to that game. That includes the San Francisco 49ers, the New York Jets, the Carolina Panthers, the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Commanders, who may have had some extra face time with the Seahawks during last night's game. We can safely cross the 49ers off the list of potential trade partners, but we can't do that with any others. The one question mark is the Panthers - and nobody seems to know which way they're leaning. Carolina is a surprise 5-4 after shocking the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, but the gap between the Panthers and the NFC teams currently on pace for a playoff spot is pretty massive. That makes the Jets, Browns and Commanders the most likely candidates to make a deal with the Seahawks from this list but we also have to assume they're talking with other teams. Pete Carroll's Raiders are another obvious potential trade partner based on their relationship and the fact that they're 2-6 going into the deadline. The Seahawks have also had a long history of making deals with the Philadelphia Eagles, who need cornerback help an have reportedly been considering a deal for Riq Woolen. On that note, the math may have changed last night due to the injuy to Josh Jobe, who was ruled out early with a concussion. Woolen responded with his best game of the season - which might be just enough to convince the Seahawks to keep him around for the playoffs.
Commanders are reportedly ready to trade 2 Super Bowl veterans
The NFL trade deadline is 24 hours away, and the Washington Commanders have been thrust firmly into a seller position after falling to the Seattle Seahawks 38-14 to fall to 3-6 on the year. There was hope that a solid defensive performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8 would transfer to an even better showing against the Seahawks. Still, ultimately, the Commanders fell further than ever before, and with the loss of quarterback Jayden Daniels, there isn’t much outside hope left for the season, despite eight games remaining on the schedule. According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Washington may not be punting on the season, but may be looking to move players as the deadline nears. The First Names to Surface “Sources: The Commanders have been open to trading several players, including OL Andrew Wylie and OL Nick Allegretti, both of whom bring extensive starting and playoff experience,” Schultz reported. “Wylie has valuable position flexibility, having played both guard spots and right tackle during his career.” Why These Players Make Sense Both Wylie and Allegretti arrived at the Commanders with Super Bowl experience, having been part of championship Kansas City Chiefs rosters in the past. Although both have played important roles on this team at times, they were eventually replaced by younger options. For Wylie, his replacement in the starting lineup came in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft when the team drafted right tackle Josh Conerly Jr. out of Oregon. Allegretti started all of last year at left guard for Washington but was moved to the right side to start the season while the team tried second-year lineman Brandon Coleman at his position after trading for left tackle Laremy Tunsil in the offseason. With Sam Cosmi returning from his knee injury, both Wylie and Allegretti now serve backup roles with versatility. Wylie has the ability to play as a tackle and guard. At the same time, Allegretti can also serve as a team’s center and was counted on at times last year to help set protections when center Tyler Biadasz was battling injury. The Potential Return Each player would likely return a future Day 3 draft pick to the Commanders, who currently have six picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, including two in the sixth round after trading away second and fourth round picks to the Houston Texans for Tunsil. Of course, there’s also a possibility Washington could look to trade player for player in this scenario, as Schultz’s report doesn’t state exclusively that the team is looking for draft capital. With eight games remaining, and a ‘never say die’ approach to the game, we wouldn’t be totally floored if the Commanders tried to bring in players at other positions to try and save their sinking season before it takes on too much water. The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, November 4, at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Canadiens Player Sends Clear Message After Senators Targeted Ivan Demidov
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble didn’t hesitate when Ottawa Senators forward Nick Cousins came back through Bell Centre on Saturday night. Weeks after Cousins’ preseason slash on Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov, Struble delivered his own message during Montreal’s 4–3 overtime win. The Habs defenseman dropped the gloves with 18 minutes, 45 seconds left to play in the third period and the game tied at 2, settling a feud that lingered since training camp. “When you have a guy like that taking a shot at your star young player, that was a bad play,” Struble said. “None of us liked it. We were thinking about it. This is the first time we played him since. That’s on our minds. You can’t go around trying to hurt our best players.” Cousins spent most of the night trying to avoid both Struble and Montreal’s usual enforcer, Arber Xhekaj, before finally being caught after two full periods. The fight was brief but decisive, ending with Cousins bloodied and leaving the game. Struble, 24, said there was no personal vendetta, just a need to hold opponents accountable for their actions, even more in preseason exhibitions. Back in October, the NHL fined Cousins $2,148.44, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement. Cousins was only assessed a minor penalty for slashing during that preseason matchup. Struble made it clear on Saturday that Montreal won’t forget when a player crosses the line, saying, “We’ll protect our guys. That’s how it should be.” For the Canadiens, the moment carried meaning beyond retaliation. Demidov, the target of Cousins' slash in September, tied the game late in regulation before Alex Newhook sealed the win in overtime. The Canadiens and the Senators will meet three more times this season, the next matchup scheduled for Dec. 2 once again in Montreal.
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