Upset of the day
Barbora Krejcikova was ousted by Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round Sunday, making the two-time Grand Slam champion the first seeded player bounced from the U.S. Open.
Falling 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Court 17, Krejcikova capped a disappointing season at Grand Slams.
The No. 27-seeded Czech has lost in the first round in three of her last four played, which is the most in a single season during her career. Rakhimova, a Russian-Uzbekistani player, will play the winner of Monday’s 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
Tommy Paul wasn’t just focusing on winning his match Sunday afternoon, he was also dishing out some marriage advice after taking down Coleman Wong. Paul married his longtime girlfriend, Paige Lorenze, in July and after his victory, he was asked on court what marriage advice he would give to people.
“I don’t know, it’s still young. Everything has been good so far,” he said. “Just give her what she wants. Give her what she wants.”
The pair have dated since 2022, and Lorenze went viral two years later when Paul won the Queen’s Club Championships, and during the celebration she seemed to be pulling him toward her in the photos. In a recent podcast, Lorenze said that she was “obsessed” with the photo from that day and that she and Paul “were making so many jokes about it” in the week after it happened.
“I’m obsessed with that [picture of us with the trophy] … by the way, whenever something happens like this that is sort of like talked about a lot, I am making more jokes than anyone,” she said.
