By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, September 3, 2026
Photo credit: Pete Staples/USTA
NEW YORK—The first round was the final stop for Karen Khachanov throughout this summer hard-court season.
Today, the unseeded Khachanov was flying high again at the US Open.
Khachanov broke serve seven times, toppling third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the US Open third round.
A wild week one grows more unpredictable as Auger-Aliasime, who conceded he was dizzy and dazed on court, joins fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic, who lost to Mariano Navone in his opener, as the second Top 4 seed to fall in opening week.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s tough to talk about anything else than how I felt physically,” Auger-Aliassime said. “After a set and a half, I just couldn’t feel well and was dizzy and seeing spots and, yeah, couldn’t recover.
“I thought maybe it would pass, but it didn’t. So that’s the end of the tournament for me, and now back
to the drawing board.”
It’s the first Top 10 win over the year for Khachanov, who reached the third round at all four Grand Slams this season—the first time he’s done that in his career.
Coming off his US Open semifinal run last year that saw him knock off Alexander Zverev and Alex de Minaur, Auger-Aliassime never really looked right today.
The first Canadian man to earn a Top 3 seed at the US Open withdrew from the Canadian Open last month.
“I am not sure but maybe he had some physical issues and that is part of our sport,” Khachanov said afterward. “I wish him to feel better and speedy recovery if he is injured, I don’t know.
“What I can say from my side is I tried to give my best performance. Fighting and I am super happy to get this win.”
While it’s certainly an upset in terms of ranking, Khachanov has now won three of five career meetings vs. Auger-Aliassime.
Unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2018 Wimbledon, Khachanov outplayed Auger-Aliassime in baseline exchanges.
“Karen is a great player. Look, I cannot beat him or anybody in this draw feeling the way I felt today,” Auger-Aliassime said. “If I cannot move, we’re not talking about tennis here.
“It’s unfortunate. I wish we were talking about tennis. I wish that I was beaten and we were talking about what I could have done better tennis-wise, but it’s not the case. So next tournament, and let’s see how I can play better.”
The 2022 US Open semifinalist Khachanov drained 47 unforced errors from Auger-Aliassime and earned 20 break points in a three hour, 17-minute triumph.
All this, after the 30-year-old Khachanov failed to produce a single victory playing Los Cabos, Montreal and Cincinnati to tune up for the Flushing Meadows major.
“The last month didn’t go well for me, so we have been practicing and I am sure I am fit,” Khachanov said. “The last tournament of the American swing, with the US Open coming with the mindset to perform well and to try to take one step at a time.”
Khachanov improved to 18-18 in 2026 and will face either Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi or 32nd-seeded Peruvian Ignacio Buse for a spot in the round of 16.
Since Auger-Aliassime lost to Novak Djokovic 6-7(10), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-7(4) in an epic Wimbledon quarterfinal in July, he has been limited to five matches posting a 3-2 record.
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