Flavio Cobolli survives 5-set scare, Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys storm into 2nd round

Flavio Cobolli survived a huge scare at the US Open on Tuesday, beating Francisco Comesana 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets to reach the second round in New York.

The fifth-seeded Italian looked in serious trouble after losing the opening two sets. Comesana played clean and aggressive tennis and put the French Open finalist under constant pressure.

But Cobolli gradually turned the match around. He began to find more depth on his strikes and forced Comesana to defend for longer stretches. The Italian took the third set before leveling the match and taking the next set.

The deciding set remained tight, but Cobolli held his nerve when it mattered most. He eventually completed the comeback after more than four hours to claim his first career Grand Slam victory after dropping the opening two sets.

Cobolli will next face the winner of the first-round match between American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy and Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate.

FRITZ, THE KEYS ARE KEEPING AMERICAN HOPE ALIVE

Taylor Fritz had a much more straightforward evening at Arthur Ashe Stadium, cruising past American teenager Darwin Blanche 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

The ninth seed, who reached the 2024 US Open final, controlled the match with his serve and baseline power. Fritz entered New York after winning the title in Washington and reaching the Cincinnati quarterfinals, adding to expectations surrounding his campaign.

Fritz will face the winner of the fight between Italian Mattia Bellucci and Hungarian Zsombor Piros in the second round.

Madison Keys also avoided an early upset by beating 19-year-old Alina Korneeva of Russia 7-5, 6-4.

The 22nd seed had to overcome some early nerves, especially after last year’s first-round exit at Flushing Meadows. Keys improved her first serve percentage from just 48 percent in the opening set to nearly 70 percent in the second, allowing her to take control when the pressure was on.

Keys will face either Czech qualifier Lucía Havlíčková or Hungarian Anna Bondarová in the 2nd round.

– The end

Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

02 Sep 2026 01:19 IST