Dane Sweeny stuns Lorenzo Musetti in US Open upset
On one of those New York afternoons when the heat seems to rise off the concrete, a 5ft 5in Australian wildcard tore up the script.
Dane Sweeny, ranked outside the top 200 and unknown to most of the fans drifting into the outer courts, sent 14th seed Lorenzo Musetti out of the US Open with a fearless, four-set ambush: 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
It was a genuine David-versus-Goliath job, only this time David chased everything, dived all over the hard court and left Goliath slumped and arguing with his box.
From slow start to full throttle
For a set, it looked routine. Musetti, a dual grand slam semi-finalist and one of the tour’s most polished shot-makers, controlled the baseline and pocketed the opener 6-3.
Then the match flipped.
Sweeny, who came in with nothing to lose and a massive ice pack still fresh in the memory from his right elbow treatment after round one, began to swing freely. He ripped through the second set 6-1, suddenly dictating rallies and dragging the Italian into the corners.
The pressure told again early in the third. Sweeny broke twice, raced to 3-0, and had Musetti scrambling not just for balls but for answers. The 14th seed called for a medical time-out, looking in real distress as the underdog ran him ragged.
Even when Musetti clawed one break back, the Italian’s frustration only grew. He barked towards his player box, gestured, complained, but nothing could slow the Australian’s momentum. Sweeny kept coming forward, kept attacking, kept diving like a throwback Boris Becker for acrobatic volleys at the net.
By the fourth set, the pattern was brutal and simple: Sweeny bossing, Musetti bending. Another 6-2, and the upset was complete.
Career-changing win
For Sweeny, 25, this was more than just a famous scalp. It was a breakthrough.
The victory sends him into the third round of a grand slam for the first time and guarantees a minimum payday of $US290,000, a life-shifting sum for a player who has spent most of his career grinding in the shadows.
It also propels him towards a career-best ranking, projected to at least No 115 in the world, with room to climb further if this run continues.
“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.”
Next up is another Italian, world No 22 Luciano Daredri, on Saturday. On this evidence, Sweeny will not be overawed.
Mixed fortunes for Australia’s other underdogs
For a while, it looked like a golden day for Australia’s lesser-known brigade.
Tristan Schoolkate, who had played his way through qualifying in an inspired run, snatched the first set from French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli and kept swinging in the furnace-like conditions. The fifth seed, though, steadied and showed his class, turning the match around to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 after two hours and 41 minutes.
Schoolkate walked off beaten but not diminished, having announced himself on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
Alexei Popyrin, two years removed from a headline-grabbing win over Novak Djokovic in this very round of the US Open, also started brightly. He dominated the first set against Chilean 25th seed Alejandro Tabilo, taking it 6-2 and looking on course for another deep run in New York.
Then came the knife-edge moments.
Tabilo edged the second-set tiebreak 7-4, then repeated the trick 7-3 in the third-set breaker. Once he had both of those in his pocket, the contest shifted decisively. The Chilean closed out the fourth set 6-2 to seal a 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory and book what is likely to be a third-round clash with German top seed Alexander Zverev.
For Popyrin, it was another reminder of how fine the margins are in best-of-five. For Tabilo, a statement win.
De Minaur waits in the wings
While the spotlight fell on Sweeny’s heroics and the near-misses of Schoolkate and Popyrin, Australia’s standard-bearer still had work to do.
Sixth seed Alex de Minaur was scheduled to face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp on The Grandstand, looking to reinforce his status as the nation’s leading hope.
On this day, though, it was the smallest man in the draw who made the biggest noise.
