'A BIT ABNORMAL': AFTER SHOCK SECOND-ROUND EXIT AT US OPEN, AUGER-ALIASSIME REVEALS HE 'WAS SEEING SPOTS'

Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, serves the ball to Karen Khachanov, of Russia, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo)

Karen Khachanov knocked out third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime from the US Open on Thursday, winning 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round.

The Russian, ranked No. 50 in the world, came into the tournament after losing the opening match in all three of his US Open warm-up events.

But he took advantage of an off-colour Auger-Aliassime, whose level dropped as the match went on at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

After the match, Auger-Aliassime said he started feeling unwell during the contest and struggled to recover.

"After a set and a half, I just couldn't feel well and was dizzy and seeing spots and couldn't recover," he said, as quoted by BBC. "I thought maybe it would pass, but it didn't.

"I've never felt quite like that. I've had cramps before. I've felt tired towards the end of matches, but in a normal way.

"This was abnormal a little bit, and there were no signs in the last couple of days and no signs this morning, as well."

The defeat made Auger-Aliassime the highest-ranked player to exit the men's singles draw so far in New York.

Khachanov, who reached the US Open semi-finals in 2022, broke the Canadian's serve seven times during the match. He also saved seven of the nine break points he faced.

The win is only Khachanov's second victory over a top-10 player at a Grand Slam and sends him into the third round in New York.

The result meant Khachanov has now reached the third round of all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar year for the first time.

- Shubhanshu Dwivedi

US OPEN BAN PHOTOGRAPHER AFTER 'CRAZY' BLUNDER CAUSES DANIIL MEDVEDEV MELTDOWN ON MATCH POINT

Daniil Medvedev lost his cool during his US Open defeat (Picture: ESPN)

Daniil Medvedev was knocked out of the US Open after a meltdown sparked by a photographer walking onto the court.

Medvedev faced match point at 5-4 in the third set when a cameraman casually strolled onto the court between Benjamin Bonzi’s first and second serve.

Due to the delay between points, umpire Greg Allensworth decided to let Bonzi have another first serve but his decision left Medvedev and the New York crowd furious.

A delay of six minutes and 24 seconds ensued as Medvedev angrily approached the chair umpire to vent his frustration and the crowd passionately booed.

Medvedev was heard asking Allensworth ‘are you a man?’ and ‘why are you shaking?’ before accusing him of wanting to ‘go home early’.

The 29-year-old also referenced comments made by American player Reilly Opelka in which he described Allensworth as the ‘worst ref in the ATP’.

The former US Open champion whipped the crowd into a frenzy by encouraging the boos as Bonzi patiently waited to resume his service game.

Medvedev smashed his racket after the first-round loss (Picture: Getty)

After the lengthy delay, Bonzi lost focus and was unable to serve out victory, with Medvedev breaking on his way to winning the third set in a tie-break.

The momentum was fully with Medvedev as he won the next set to love but Bonzi responded to take the decider and progress to the second round.

The photographer who caused the drama was later escorted out of Louis Armstrong Stadium by security and has been banned from covering any more matches at the US Open.

Benjamin Bonzi came through an epic battle (Picture: Getty)

‘His credential has been revoked for the 2025 US Open,’ United States Tennis Association organisers said in a brief statement.

Bonzi, meanwhile, appeared to take a swipe at the fans inside the stadium after booking his place in the second round.

‘The energy was wild,’ the world number 51 said. ‘Thanks for all those who were booing – thanks for the energy in the fifth set.

‘It was a crazy scenario. I have never experienced anything like that. It was so difficult to play, so noisy. But I tried to stay calm – it was not easy.’

- Louis Sealey

VICTORIA AZARENKA BATTLES THROUGH MIGRAINE IN US OPEN WIN

Victoria Azarenka barely celebrated her Round 2 win and went back to her seat to drape a towel around her head before putting on a pair of sunglasses. "I'm wearing glasses for a reason right now," she said. "It looks probably weird and awkward on TV." Matt Rourke/AP

NEW YORK -- Victoria Azarenka said she suffered a migraine during her match against Clara Burel at the US Open on Wednesday, but the former world No. 1 still managed to claim a 6-1, 6-4 victory to move into the third round.

Azarenka was in cruise control as she comfortably took the opening set after winning the first five games but quickly found herself down 3-1 in the second, appearing to struggle with the harsh lights at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The Belarusian player was in tears as she complained of a migraine and then called for the doctor, who checked her blood pressure and gave her medication during a stoppage that lasted nearly five minutes.

That took the momentum away from Burel, who made several errors after the restart as Azarenka won the next four games before sealing victory.

The 20th seed barely celebrated the win and went back to her seat to drape a towel around her head before putting on a pair of sunglasses.

"I don't know how I played the match. I just tried to, you know, hope that it's going to get better a little bit," Azarenka said in her postmatch interview. "I'm wearing glasses for a reason right now. It looks probably weird and awkward on TV. But I have a chronic migraine sometimes, and it couldn't be a worse time to start it, on the match.

"It's just tough to deal with."

The two-time Australian Open champion will next face China's Wang Yafan.

Reuters contributed to this report.

-ESPN News Services

FIFTH SEED JABEUR KNOCKED OUT BY ZHENG IN FOURTH ROUND

USA TODAY Sports 

China's Zheng Qinwen knocked out last year's U.S. open runner-up Ons Jabeur in the fourth round on Monday with a 6-2 6-4 win over the Tunisian fifth seed at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Illness had left Jabeur struggling to catch her breath at times earlier in the tournament and she looked exhausted against Zheng, who will face second seed Aryna Sabalenka in her first Grand Slam quarter-final.