Wildcard Sweeny Upsets 13th Seed Musetti at US Open

Wildcard Seizes Initiative After Losing the Opener

Dane Sweeny arrived at the 2026 US Open as a wild card ranked 123rd in the world. By Thursday evening, the Australian had reached his first Grand Slam third round, defeating 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in a match that turned decisively after the opening set. After dropping the first, Sweeny won 18 of the following 23 games to dismantle a Musetti who struggled physically as the afternoon wore on at Flushing Meadows.

The Italian, widely considered one of the more dangerous seeds in the bottom half of the draw, took a medical time-out after falling 0-3 down in the third set. On his return, however, he could not stem the tide. Sweeny maintained his level through the final two sets and closed out the fourth without facing a break point, completing the win in convincing fashion.

With the result, Sweeny becomes the fifth seed to exit the men's draw before the second weekend, joining an already extraordinary list of early departures that includes Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev, and now Félix Auger-Aliassime. The US Open 2026 is producing upsets at a historic rate.

Musetti Fades After a Bright Start

Musetti had opened brightly. His one-handed backhand worked well in the early stages, and the Italian won the first set with relative comfort to position himself as the clear favourite for the rest of the match. However, Sweeny shifted his approach after losing the opener, moving his feet more aggressively and keeping the ball deeper with greater consistency.

Musetti's errors climbed, his movement slowed, and the medical time-out in the third set — though necessary — did nothing to halt the Italian's decline. From 0-3 down, he never recovered the level that had characterised his first-set display, and the final two sets belonged entirely to the Australian. For Musetti, the defeat continues a frustrating pattern of second-round Grand Slam exits that has prevented him from translating his undeniable talent into deep runs at the majors on hard courts. He had reached the fourth round at Roland Garros earlier this year but has yet to replicate that form at a major on a faster surface.

A Landmark Result for Sweeny

For Dane Sweeny, Thursday's win is a landmark moment. The Australian, who has built his career largely on the Challenger circuit, had not previously reached the third round of a Grand Slam. Playing on one of tennis' biggest stages with a wild card, he handled the occasion with a composure that suggests his ranking of 123 does not fully reflect his ceiling on hard courts.

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His next opponent is No. 21 seed Luciano Darderi, the Italian-Argentine who edged through his own second-round contest in four sets. The prospect of Sweeny — an Australian wild card — facing an Italian-born opponent in the third round adds an unusual subplot to a tournament already full of unexpected storylines.

Italy's Draw Narrows to Cobolli and Darderi

The exit of Musetti, combined with Matteo Berrettini's second-round loss to Mariano Navone, means Italy now relies on Flavio Cobolli and Darderi to carry its flag into the third round. Cobolli — seeded fifth — edged past Australian Tristan Schoolkate 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday to continue his own New York campaign. Both Italians face tougher paths from here as the draw tightens and the remaining unseeded survivors grow harder to dismiss.

Sweeny's run, however, is the story of the day: a wild card ranked outside the top 120 has reached the last 32 of the US Open, proof once again that Flushing Meadows in 2026 is producing results that no pre-tournament bracket predicted.