Dane Sweeny Upsets Lorenzo Musetti at US Open

Dane Sweeny, all 170 centimetres of him, walked into Flushing Meadows as a wildcard and walked out on Thursday night as the man who lit up the US Open.

The diminutive Australian produced the match – and the moment – of his career, dismantling 14th seed Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in a stunning second-round upset that crackled with defiance and belief.

A Giant Toppled

On paper, this was a mismatch. Musetti, a dual grand slam semi-finalist at Wimbledon and Roland Garros over the past two seasons, arrived as a top-15 player with pedigree and poise. Sweeny, ranked more than 100 places below the Italian, arrived with a wildcard and a dream.

For a set, the script held. Musetti took the opener 6-3, his variety and weight of shot seemingly too much. Sweeny, though, refused to shrink. He surged through the second set 6-1, flipping the rhythm of the match with fearless returning and relentless court coverage.

From there, the outsider didn’t just hang with the favourite. He ran him into the ground.

Sweeny bossed the baseline exchanges, dragged Musetti wide, then knifed forward, throwing himself around the net with full-blooded dives that evoked Boris Becker. The Italian’s frustration boiled over in the third set as Sweeny stormed to a double-break lead at 3-0, forcing Musetti to call a medical time-out and leaving him looking visibly distressed in the New York heat.

Even after clawing one break back, Musetti never truly regained control. He kept remonstrating animatedly with his box, while Sweeny kept swinging free, the underdog turning into the aggressor, the chaser into the hunter.

The Australian closed it out with authority, losing just five games across the last three sets and turning a shaky start into a rout.

A Career Breakthrough

For Sweeny, this was more than a big-name scalp. It was a career-altering night.

The 25-year-old, who came into the tournament nursing his right elbow and icing it heavily after his first-round win, ignored the discomfort and hurled himself into every point. His reward: a place in the third round of a grand slam for the first time, a guaranteed pay cheque of $US290,000 (about $A402,750), and a surge towards a career-best ranking of at least No 115 in the world.

Next comes another Italian, world No 22 Luciano Darderi, in the last 32 on Saturday (AEST). Another shot at an upset. Another chance to stretch this improbable run.

“I’m just grateful to be even able to compete in grand slams. The tennis journey is such a rollercoaster,” Sweeny said. “And to soak up the atmosphere and get a win, a couple of wins, in front of this crowd, is awesome.”

On Thursday, that rollercoaster finally climbed into view of the sport’s main stage.

Mixed Fortunes for Australia

For a while, it looked like Sweeny might have company in the third round.

Tristan Schoolkate, who had pieced together an inspired charge from qualifying, came out swinging against French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli. He snatched the first set 6-3, matching the fifth seed with clean hitting and composure.

The Italian’s class eventually told. Cobolli steadied, tightened his game and turned the match around 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in two hours and 41 minutes under New York’s scorching summer sun. Schoolkate’s run ended, but not before he had forced a top player deep into a physical, grinding contest.

Alexei Popyrin, two years on from his famous third-round win over Novak Djokovic at this very tournament, also threatened another deep push. He flew out of the blocks against Alejandro Tabilo, taking the first set 6-2 and looking locked in on serve.

The Chilean, seeded 25th, dug in. He pinched two pivotal tiebreaks – 7-4 in the second set, 7-3 in the third – to flip a match that had been leaning Australia’s way. Popyrin faded in the fourth, Tabilo closing out a 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 win and lining up what is likely to be a third-round showdown with top seed Alexander Zverev.

On a day of narrow misses and brutal swings, Sweeny stood alone as the Australian who turned opportunity into shock value.

De Minaur Waits in the Wings

There was still more Australian interest on the schedule. Sixth seed Alex de Minaur, the country’s standard-bearer, was due to face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp on The Grandstand after Schoolkate’s match.

By then, though, the story of the day had already been written.

A 5ft 5in wildcard had walked into one of tennis’s biggest arenas, stared down a grand slam heavyweight, and sent him packing. The US Open loves a scrapper, and Dane Sweeny has just announced himself as one worth watching.