US Open roundup: Zheng reaches third round as men's seeds tumble

Zheng Qinwen returns a shot during the women's singles second round match betweetn Zheng Qinwen of China and Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan at the 2026 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, Sept. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, sixth seed Alex de Minaur and 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti were all knocked out Thursday at the US Open, while China's Zheng Qinwen reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in 15 months.

In the men's singles, former US Open semifinalist Auger-Aliassime faded after taking the opening set and lost to Karen Khachanov 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

"After a set and a half, I just couldn't feel well and was dizzy and seeing spots and couldn't recover," Auger-Aliassime said. "I thought maybe it would pass, but it didn't."

De Minaur was beaten by Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands 6-4, 7-5, 6-2, while Australia's Dane Sweeny rallied to defeat Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev went five sets for the second consecutive match, beating France's Quentin Halys 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (7), 6-3 in 4 hours, 33 minutes.

Ninth-seeded Taylor Fritz dropped only two games in a 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 win over Italy's Mattia Bellucci.

In the women's singles, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva and Iga Swiatek all advanced in straight sets.

No. 13 seed Naomi Osaka beat doubles world No. 1 Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 after surrendering a 4-2 lead in the second set.

Zheng, the reigning Olympic champion, beat Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 for her first victory over Putintseva in three meetings. An emotional Zheng lay on the court and cried after sealing the victory.

"For me, this win means a lot. I haven't won the last two times when I was playing Grand Slam matches. Today, I gave everything on court," Zheng said.

Zheng next faces 22nd-seeded Madison Keys, the 2025 Australian Open champion, for a place in the fourth round. Keys needed a third-set tiebreaker to beat Hungary's Anna Bondar 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5) earlier Thursday.

In women's doubles, three pairs featuring Chinese players advanced.

Wang Xiyu and Xu Yifan beat Claire Liu and Julieta Pareja 6-3, 7-6 (4), while Wang Xinyu and Japan's Moyuka Uchijima recovered from 3-0 down in the deciding set to beat 15th-seeded Ulrikke Eikeri of Norway and Quinn Gleason of the United States 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Tang Qianhui and Russia's Elena Pridankina beat Katarzyna Piter and Anna Siskova 6-3, 6-2.