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Error-strewn third seed Auger-Aliassime dumped out of US Open by Khachanov

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime looks dejected after losing his second round match against Russia's Karen Khachanov
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime looks dejected after losing his second round match against Russia's Karen KhachanovIMAGN IMAGES via Reuters / Geoff Burke

Russia's Karen Khachanov stunned Canadian third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7(5), 6-3, ⁠6-2, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the third round of the US Open.

World number 50 Khachanov, who lost the ‌opening match in his three US Open tune-up events, was far from spectacular ‌but did enough on a day when 2025 semi-finalist Auger-Aliassime ‌struggled mightily.

Khachanov, who made a run to the US Open semi-finals ‌in 2022, broke Auger-Aliassime's serve seven times on the ‌Louis Armstrong Stadium court and saved seven of the nine break points he faced en route to securing only his second top-10 win at ‌a Grand Slam.

Auger-Aliassime looked ready to whip ⁠through the first set ‌after consolidating a break for a 3-0 lead but was suddenly ​undone by a string of errors, allowing Khachanov to pull ahead before the Canadian broke for a second time ​to get to 4-4.

Key match stats
Key match statsFlashscore

But Khachanov showed he was ready for a fight and twice held at love while serving to stay ⁠in the set before ​falling short in the tiebreaker, which ended when he sent a backhand long after chasing down an Auger-Aliassime volley.

In the second set, it was Khachanov's turn to jump ahead 3-0, but he ‌never looked back, ultimately closing it out on his serve after coming back from 15-40 down.

Khachanov cruised through the third set, breaking at love to reach 4-1 en route to wrapping up the frame on his serve and leaving Auger-Aliassime with a long road back on a day when little was going right for him.

The Russian, displaying full confidence in his swings, wasted little time in the fourth set, ‌opening up a 4-0 lead that appeared to drain the ​energy and strength from Auger-Aliassime, who looked a shell ‌of his normal self.

Khachanov went on to close out the encounter with a four-point hold, the final blow coming with a massive serve that Auger-Aliassime failed to return.

Up next for Khachanov, who has only reached two quarter-finals this ⁠year, will be either ⁠Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi or Peruvian ‌32nd seed Ignacio Buse.

US Open 2026

The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam of the tennis season, running from August 30th to September 13th. It is a hard-court tournament held at Flushing Meadows in New York City. Follow the links below for more information!

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