Upset of the day
Barbora Krejcikova faced an unexpected exit from the U.S. Open on Sunday, losing in the first round to Kamilla Rakhimova. This defeat makes Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam champion, the first seeded player to be eliminated in this year’s tournament.
The match ended with scores of 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Court 17, adding to what has been a rather disappointing season for Krejcikova at Grand Slam events. The No. 27 seed from the Czech Republic has unfortunately lost in the first round three times out of her last four Grand Slam appearances, marking the highest number of first-round exits in a single season throughout her career. Rakhimova, who represents both Russia and Uzbekistan, is set to play the winner of the upcoming match between Japan’s Aoi Ito and Spain’s Oksana Selekhmeteva.
Quote of the day
“The week before the Open this year, it felt like everyone was here, like, from Sunday the week before. It’s great in terms of practices. You know, we’re getting really good practices, but it’s not great in terms of gym space. I feel like everyone is up there trying to get their work in before the tournament starts.”
— Tommy Paul
Love match
Amidst his focus on winning, Tommy Paul also shared some relationship wisdom after his Sunday match, where he defeated Coleman Wong. Having tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend Paige Lorenze back in July, Paul was asked for marriage advice during his on-court interview.
“I don’t know, it’s still young. Everything has been good so far,” he replied. “Just give her what she wants. Give her what she wants.”
The couple has been together since 2022. Lorenze, who became quite popular on social media during the celebrations of Paul’s win at the Queen’s Club Championships, mentioned that she was “obsessed” with a particular photo from that day. She recalled how they joked a lot about it afterward.
“I’m obsessed with that [picture of us with the trophy] … by the way, whenever something happens like this that is sort of talked about a lot, I am making more jokes than anyone,” she remarked.
