Khachanov Knocks Out Third Seed Auger-Aliassime at US Open

Third Seed Falls in Four Sets as Khachanov Seizes Control

Karen Khachanov delivered one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 US Open on Thursday, eliminating third seed Félix Auger-Aliassime in four sets to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows. The Russian, ranked 50th in the PIF ATP Rankings, won 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in three hours and 16 minutes — recording his first victory over a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam in seven years.

Auger-Aliassime had entered the tournament as one of the leading title contenders after reaching the semi-finals at the US Open last year. His exit in the second round represents yet another seismic shock in a draw that has already seen Novak Djokovic eliminated in the first round and Andrey Rublev swept away by teenage Spaniard Daniel Mérida. The third seed becomes the fifth top-ranked player to leave before the second weekend.

Auger-Aliassime Undone by 47 Unforced Errors

The opening set went to a tiebreak, which Auger-Aliassime claimed 7-5 to take an early lead. From that point the third seed unravelled. He accumulated 47 unforced errors across the match — 30 of them in the final three sets — and was broken five times after the opener as Khachanov made him pay for every loose shot.

The Canadian world No. 4 had no response once the Russian established his rhythm from the baseline. Groundstrokes that usually trouble opponents repeatedly found the net or sailed long, and his serve, which had carried him through his first-round win, provided little shelter against Khachanov's returning on the Arthur Ashe Stadium day session. A brief courtside assessment between sets changed nothing. Khachanov grew more assured with every game, redirecting the ball cleanly and converting chances as they arrived.

Auger-Aliassime ended the match with nearly half of his 43 winners coming in the first set alone — a graphic illustration of how completely his game deserted him once the opener slipped away. The final three sets, taken by Khachanov at an average of fewer than 25 minutes apiece, told the story of a mismatch the scoreboard had not predicted at the start of play.

Khachanov Rediscovers His Best

Khachanov had recorded just 18 wins from 36 matches in 2026 before arriving in New York, with a third-round Wimbledon exit as his best Grand Slam result of the season. A hard-court swing marked by losses to lower-ranked opponents had left him below his peak. Yet Flushing Meadows has long been his most productive Grand Slam setting — he reached the final here in 2022 — and Thursday's display suggested a return to the focused, disciplined baseline tennis that made him a consistent force at the majors for much of the early 2020s.

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The 30-year-old arrived with a 3–0 head-to-head record against Auger-Aliassime and produced exactly the brand of relentless pressure the stat implied. He now advances into the third round of the US Open in a quarter of the draw that looks considerably more open than it did 48 hours ago.

Shapovalov and Fernandez Keep Canadian Hopes Alive

With Auger-Aliassime gone, Canada's remaining hopes in the singles draws fall to Denis Shapovalov and Leylah Fernandez. Both are scheduled to face American opponents in the coming days — contests likely to be played in front of loud, partisan home-crowd atmospheres at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Khachanov, meanwhile, enters the last 16 of a tournament that has shed its form guide with remarkable speed. The Russian will face a third round that looks unlike any other at a recent Grand Slam for sheer lack of obvious favourites — which is precisely the environment in which he tends to perform at his best.