Etcheverry Ends Navone's Giant-Killing US Open Run in Argentine Clash

Navone's Remarkable Run Stopped by a Compatriot

The story of the 2026 US Open's opening fortnight reached its conclusion on Friday when Tomás Martín Etcheverry ended Mariano Navone's extraordinary run, beating the fellow Argentine 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the third round at Flushing Meadows. Navone had been the defining figure of the tournament's early stages, eliminating Novak Djokovic in the first round and Matteo Berrettini in the second. Etcheverry provided the resistance neither of those two could muster, advancing to the Round of 16 in straight sets.

The 27th seed was methodical and composed throughout. Etcheverry, a seasoned clay and hard-court performer who has built his game for deep Grand Slam runs, took the opening set 6-4 without ever allowing Navone the kind of momentum that had carried the lower-ranked Argentine through his first two matches. Where Djokovic and Berrettini had found themselves caught in Navone's emotional wake, Etcheverry brought discipline and patience to neutralise it.

Straight Sets, No Drama — a Different Kind of Opponent

The second and third sets followed the same template. Etcheverry broke on the occasions when Navone wavered and consolidated without drama. The final set, like the second, went 6-4 before a 6-3 completion in the third. Navone won games throughout but was never close to breaking back when it mattered, and the Argentine's output — which had been electric and unpredictable for two rounds — looked suddenly constrained facing an opponent who did not allow the match to become loose or emotional.

For Navone, the performance was a reminder of the gap that still separates a player on a remarkable upset run from a seeded professional who has been operating consistently at this level for several seasons. The loss was not a collapse; it was a reality check administered calmly.

A Run That Changed Everything for Navone

Whatever the final scoreline, Mariano Navone departs New York with his career transformed. He entered the tournament as an unseeded player whose name was unfamiliar to most casual tennis fans. He leaves it having beaten the most-decorated player in the history of the sport — Novak Djokovic, in the first round — and former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in successive matches. Both victories were comprehensive rather than fortunate, and they established Navone as a genuine threat on hard courts at the highest level. His ranking will move significantly as a result of this week's work.

Alcaraz takes Vienna wildcard after Six Kings Slam is postponed

Etcheverry Into the Last 16

Tomás Martín Etcheverry advances to the Round of 16 of the 2026 US Open having dispatched the tournament's biggest story quietly and efficiently. In doing so, he also closes Argentina's most intriguing sub-plot of the fortnight: both of the country's headline acts in this men's draw — the giant-killer and the seeded professional — meet, and the professional wins.

Etcheverry will now await a Round of 16 opponent from a section of the draw that features Carlos Alcaraz and Tommy Paul, who are due to face each other in what has already been billed as the men's match of the fourth round. Francisco Cerundolo, Argentina's other remaining men's singles representative, faces Taylor Fritz in the third round on Saturday.