Samuel Makes History in Flushing Meadows
It was a day of contrasting fortunes for British tennis at the 2026 US Open, as Toby Samuel announced himself on the Grand Slam stage in spectacular fashion. The qualifier, who fought through three rounds just to reach the main draw, dismantled former top-20 player Tomas Machac with a commanding 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory in only 90 minutes. Samuel's serving was sharp and his groundstrokes rarely missed the mark, allowing him to break early in both the first and second sets and coast to a two-set lead before closing out comfortably.
Samuel was visibly emotional after the win, admitting exhaustion but expressing deep gratitude. He described playing a near-flawless match, noting that while Machac pushed harder in the third set, he quickly regrouped and maintained control. The result has massive ranking implications: Samuel, who sat at a world ranking of 683 just one year ago, will now crack the top 100 on the ATP rankings for the first time. He faces 18th seed Jiri Lehecka in the second round on Wednesday, another tough Czech opponent.
Norrie Falls Short Against Van Assche
The news was not as positive for Cameron Norrie, who fell in the first round to France's Luca Van Assche. Van Assche came from a set down to win in four sets, ending Norrie's campaign before it had a chance to gather any momentum. It was a frustrating early exit for Norrie, who will be hoping to bounce back on the indoor hard-court swing later in the season.
With both results now confirmed, TennisDraw users who backed Norrie to advance deep into the draw will need to recalibrate their bracket predictions heading into the second round.
