Australia’s Adam Walton pulled off one of the upsets of the US Open so far, downing 22nd seed Ugo Humbert, as countrywomen Priscilla Hon and Daria Kasatkina also advanced to the second round in New York.
Walton, ranked 85th in the world, stunned the Frenchman 6-4, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1, in two hours and 53 minutes on Court 10.
The 26-year-old Queenslander will now play the second round of a grand slam for the third time, having also done so at Roland Garros this year and Wimbledon last year, as part of a string of strong performances throughout the North American summer.
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Walton upset former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev, whose opening round loss to Benjamin Bonzi descended into chaos when a photographer walked onto the court in between first and second serves on match point, in the second round in Cincinnati and carried that good form to Flushing Meadows.
“You know, I’ve had a good American summer, and I just believed,” Walton told Stan Sport.
“You know, I played well from the first point. I thought he raised his level after dropped the first two sets.
“He was serving very, very well, and I eventually lost serve at 5-5 in the third.
“I thought there was a bit of a momentum shift.
“I thought it was a crucial hold first game of the fourth.
“I told myself to try step up a little bit and glad it paid off in the fourth set.”
Walton is predicted to surpass is career-high world ranking of 82, which he reached earlier this month, and jump to 74th in the world in the latest high point of what has been the most fruitful year of his career.
He has picked up six main draw wins in Masters 1000, which has helped him earn almost half his total prize money this year – US$681,590 (A$1.05m) with his US Open winnings still to come depending on how far he can extend his run with Hong Kong qualifier Coleman Wong awaiting next.
“Consistently hard working. I just try and get a little better each and everyday,” Walton said of how he has improved.
“You know, the results will come, hopefully.
“This has been a great year so far.
“I don’t want to stop here. I want to keep pushing forward.
“It’s just a really good year and excited to just keep going with my tennis.”
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The United States is a familiar place for Walton as he studied and played collegiate tennis at the University of Tennessee.
Asked how he would have reacted if he had told himself in his college days that he would be winning grand slam main draws matches in his future, Walton said, “I probably wouldn’t have believed it”.
“Top 100 wasn’t really in the picture when I graduated college,” he continued.
“I didn’t really think I could do it.
“Your goals change as you start playing better tennis, and you get new goals, and you want to achieve bigger and better things.
“I’m just trying to belong in the top 100.
“I think I’ve done that over the last 12 months and now, we’re just trying to push higher.”
Hon’s victory was also a substantial one as her straight sets win over Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean was her first grand slam triumph since 2020 following a potentially career-threatening injury.
Kasatkina meanwhile, cruised to a 7-5, 6-1 victory against Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
The 15th seed was far too solid for her opponent, making just 17 unforced errors compared to Ruse’s 40.
Kasatkina will next face world No.65 Kamilla Rakhimova of her former country, Russia.
Still out on court, James Duckworth lost the first 6-3 to American Tristan Boyer, while Aleksandar Vukic is down two set to one against another American in Jenson Brooksby.
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