NEW YORK — Two top-10 seeds on the men’s side were stunned with early exits Monday in the first day of the US Open.
Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan shocked fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in an epic first-round showdown, winning the affair on the ninth match point.
And American qualifier Brandon Holt, the son of two-time US Open champion Tracy Austin, stunned compatriot and 10th seed Taylor Fritz 6-7 (3), 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-4 in just over three hours.
Playing in the main draw for the first time, Galan appeared right at home on tennis’ biggest stage, claiming the first 11 games as Tsitsipas struggled to find any of his usual finesse and won just five of his service points in the first set.
Tsitsipas had a trainer tend to his right arm before the sixth game in the second set, when he finally got on the board, and again during the break before the third set, when he broke Galan in the second game.
Tsitsipas, who has never gotten past the third round in New York and had hoped to do better this year after reaching the Cincinnati final, dropped only four of his first-serve points in the third set and looked as though he had the momentum when he broke Galan again in the opening game of the fourth set.
But Galan never lost his composure, sending across 41 winners throughout the entire contest and refusing to give into his heavily favored opponent.
“I just stayed calm. I lost the set but I felt I was doing better and better,” said Galan, who broke back in the eighth.
Galan next faces Australian Jordan Thompson in the second round.
Ranked 303rd in the world, the 24-year-old Holt was awarded a qualifying wild card at Flushing Meadows and was making his tour-level debut against Fritz, the highest-ranked American at No. 12.
Holt, who turned professional in 2020, was not even sure if he could continue playing tennis when he needed career-threatening surgery on his hand last year.
He did not play for the rest of 2021 and returned to action only at the feeder International Tennis Federation circuit in Cancun, Mexico, in January.
“I started the year ranked like 900-something after having an injury in my hand. I was out for like eight months. I basically had to start from scratch down there,” Holt told reporters. “I did well my first three tournaments back. I won all three of them in a row after a long time off, a lot of hard work recovering. Yeah, from there to here has been a very quick upward tick. Hopefully, I can keep it going.”
In another match, Australian Nick Kyrgios overcame his despair at seeing dear friend Thanasi Kokkinakis on the other side of the net, outclassing his compatriot 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
The doubles partners won together at the Australian Open but landed on opposite sides at the year’s final major, where an in-form Kyrgios kept his sublime year on track, never facing a break at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the battle of the “Special K’s.”
“It was a nightmare, honestly, we never want to play each other,” Kyrgios said in an on-court interview. “I can’t wait to get out there and play doubles with him on the right side of the net.”
Reuters contributed to this report.