Wait. There were upsets at the 2024 US Open? When?
We kid. Here are some of the shocking wins that seismically shifted the tournament over the course of the fortnight—starting with the two biggest surprises of all.
Botic van De Zandschulp def. [3] Carlos Alcaraz , 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 (Round 2)
Alcaraz captured the French Open title in June and the Wimbledon title in July to complete what is often referred to as the “Channel Slam” at just 21 years old. Under the lights inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world No. 3—who reached the semifinals here in 2023, won the tournament in 2022 and achieved a quarterfinal berth in his Flushing Meadows debut in 2021—could not channel the game he needed to lift his third consecutive Grand Slam trophy. After the loss, Alcaraz said he was battling himself on court as much as he was battling his opponent. But give credit to 2021 quarterfinalist van de Zandschulp, whose powerful shots and willingness to come forward kept the Spaniard at bay throughout the contest. Amazingly, before the US Open, the Dutchman had not won consecutive tour-level matches all year and was considering retirement.
[28] Alexei Popyrin def. [2] Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 (Round 3)
The last time Djokovic, the defending champion, lost in an early round at one of the majors? The 2017 Australian Open. (Alcaraz—perhaps the Serbian’s biggest rival these days—was just 13.) Djokovic opted to forego the North American hardcourt tune-up events following an emotional gold medal triumph at the Paris Olympics; he never looked to be in his typical world-beating form in New York and came up against an Australian player brimming with confidence after capturing his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal in August. Still, Djokovic is an athlete who underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus and then reached the Wimbledon final mere weeks later this past July. He is accustomed to working his way through a draw even when he’s not at his best. This year, he ran out of time.
Thanasi Kokkinakis def. [11] Stefanos Tsitsipas, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 (Round 1)
Kokkinakis has been besieged by injury after injury over the course of his career, but when healthy, he knows a thing or two around an upset. Just ask Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon earlier this year. Or Roger Federer in Miami in 2018, when the Australian came into the event as the world No. 175 and sent the defending champion packing in the second round. On Day 2 at the 2024 US Open, the world No. 86 cranked his forehand and held his nerve to defeat Tsitsipas, who took his seventh early-round loss in seven appearances in Flushing Meadows.
Caroline Dolehide def. [11] Danielle Collins, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 (Round 1)
In January, Florida native Collins—the 2022 Australian Open finalist—announced she was hanging up her tennis shoes at the end of the year. She then embarked on one of the greatest stretches of her career, recording a 15-match win streak in the spring to claim back-to-back titles in Miami and Charleston—the first to achieve that feat since Serena Williams in 2013. Despite displaying some imperious “Danimal” form in the first set of her US Open campaign, she could not keep it going in the second and third against Dolehide, who had never before beaten her compatriot in three tour-level attempts.
Iva Jovic def. Magda Linette, 6-4, 6-3 (Round 1)
A great tournament for the American contingent started here: 16-year-old Californian Jovic—who earned a wild card into the US Open women’s singles tournament after capturing the title at the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships—scored this routine Day 1 win over 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Linette and then pushed No. 29 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova to 7-5 in the third. (Alexandrova, interestingly, would go on to be the only player to take a set off eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.) Jovic is the youngest American to win a main-draw match at the US Open since 15-year-old Coco Gauff reached the third round in 2019.
Jordan Thompson def. [7] Hubert Hurkacz, 7-6(2), 6-1, 7-5 (Round 2)
The big-serving Hurkacz led 5-2 in the first set and earned a set point in the third but couldn’t manage to stay in front against Thompson, who at 30 years old scored his first Top 10 win at a Grand Slam. With this result, the world No. 7 recorded his fifth-straight second-round loss in a row at Flushing Meadows.
Elena-Gabriela Ruse def. [8] Barbora Krejcikova, 6-4, 7-5 (Round 2)
Krejcikova had just lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish at Wimbledon earlier in July, but she could not find the same form on the hard courts in Queens, as Romanian qualifier Ruse stepped in on her returns and in one instance captured 11 points in a row during their battle to advance over her higher-pedigreed opponent. Krejcikova can take solace in the fact that no woman has claimed the last two majors of the year since Serena Williams achieved the feat all the way back in 2012.
Brandon Nakashima def. [18] Lorenzo Musetti, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) (Round 3)
Nakashima technically also upset No. 15 seed Holger Rune in the first round, but the American held a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over the Dane coming into that battle. (In one of those prior matches, Rune managed to win just two games.) Musetti, meanwhile, was one of the most in-form players of the summer, having reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and earned a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. The unflappable Nakashima remained mostly unbothered by the Italian’s variety and all-court game, erasing a 0-4 deficit in the fourth set to advance to his second Round 4 appearance at a major, after Wimbledon in 2022. Musetti’s defeat meant that none of the three men’s singles podium finishers at the Olympics (also Djokovic and Alcaraz) would advance past the third round at Flushing Meadows.
[13] Emma Navarro def. [3] Coco Gauff, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 (Round 4)
If Navarro had just beaten her compatriot in the same round at Wimbledon earlier this summer, can you call this an upset? Still, Gauff was back on the same grounds where she won her first Grand Slam title just a year prior. There was no reason to think—especially after her fightback in the second set to level the match—that she wouldn’t eventually recapture the magic of 2023. Instead, she hit just four winners against 22 unforced errors (including 11 double faults) in the third set as the 23-year-old former University of Virginia standout advanced to her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.
[6] Jessica Pegula def. [1] Iga Swiatek (and her quarterfinal curse), 6-2, 6-4 (Quarterfinals)
Despite owning three wins over Swiatek, Pegula had never beaten the world No. 1 at a major. She’d also claimed just a single game the last time they met, at the WTA Finals in Cancun last November. And of course, unlike Swiatek, Pegula had never advanced beyond the quarterfinal round of a major before, going 0-6 at that stage. But under the lights inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, history felt irrelevant. Utilizing her improved movement and attacking her opponent’s forehand to draw errors, Pegula captured the first set easily and then held on as the Pole started to level up in the second, with the American even surviving a 65 mph second serve as she served it out. “Thank god I was able to do it,” she said after the match. “Finally—finally!—I can say, 'semifinalist.’”
