‘A bit off’: Auger-Aliassime reveals ‘saw spots’ after shock US Open second-round exit

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada serves the ball to Karen Khachanov of Russia during the second round of the US Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP photo) Karen Chacanov knocked third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime out of the US Open on Thursday with a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win to reach the third round.The Russian, who is ranked 50th in the world, entered the tournament having lost the opening match in all three of his US Open qualifiers. But he took advantage of the off-color Auger-Aliassime, whose level dropped as the match went on at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.After the match, Auger-Aliassime said that he started feeling sick during the match and was trying to recover.“After a set and a half I just didn’t feel well, I was dizzy, I was seeing spots and I couldn’t recover,” he said, according to the BBC. “I thought it would pass, but it didn’t.“I’ve never felt quite like that. I’ve had cramps before. Towards the end of games I felt tired, but in a normal way.”“It’s been a bit abnormal and there have been no signs for the past few days and this morning as well.The defeat made Auger-Aliassime the highest-ranked player to leave the men’s singles draw to date in New York.Khachanov, who reached the semi-finals of the US Open in 2022, broke the Canadian’s serve seven times during the match. He also saved seven of the nine break points he faced.The win is only Khačanov’s second win over a top-10 player at a Grand Slam and sends him into the third round in New York.The result meant that Khačanov now reached the third round of all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar year for the first time.