Felix Auger-Aliassime’s pursuit of US Open success came to an abrupt halt in the second round, as the Canadian third seed fell to unseeded Karen Khachanov in a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 6-2 upset on Monday.
Auger-Aliassime, a two-time finalist at Flushing Meadows, mounted a competitive opening set against the Russian but could not sustain his performance across the subsequent three sets. The match represented a significant opportunity for the Canadian to advance deeper into the tournament, yet Khachanov’s aggressive baseline play and consistent execution proved too much to overcome.
Strong Start Gives Way to Dominance
The contest remained tight through the first set, which went to a tiebreak where Auger-Aliassime narrowly lost 5-7. However, the momentum shifted decisively thereafter, with Khachanov claiming the next three sets by comfortable margins. The Russian’s dominance in sets two through four underscored the dramatic swing in performance levels as the match progressed.
Khachanov’s victory comes amid significant disruption at the tournament, following the earlier exit of Novak Djokovic from the draw. The unseeded Russian attributed his success to his own strong play while acknowledging that his opponent may have faced physical challenges. “Maybe he had some physical issues, it’s part of our sport, it’s part of tennis. I’m super happy to get this win,” Khachanov said.
The defeat marks a disappointing outcome for Auger-Aliassime, who has previously reached the final stages of the US Open on two occasions. His inability to build upon his opening-set competitiveness against an unseeded opponent illustrates how quickly momentum can swing in professional tennis.