Buyunchaokete managed to take advantage of his second chance at the US Open, securing his first victory in the main Grand Slam draw. Simultaneously, his compatriot U Ibing advanced to the third round of the men's singles tournament in New York.
Buyunchaokete staged a major upset in the first round, defeating Spanish player Rafael Nadal, ranked 12th, with a score of 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.
Initially, the player, whose world ranking was 124th, did not qualify for the main draw after losing 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to Federico Sina in the final qualifying round. However, a review by Tanasi Kokkinakis allowed Buyunchaokete to enter the tournament as a qualifier, giving him another opportunity to stay in New York.
The 24-year-old athlete fully realized his potential against World No. 13 Nadal, who is considered one of the most promising players to rise from outside the Top 100 to the Top 10 this season. Buyunchaokete dominated the match through his serve, winning 84 percent of points on the first serve and 69 percent on the second, while preventing his opponent from realizing a single break point.
Despite an interruption due to rain, Buyunchaokete's momentum did not waver. He converted seven out of sixteen break points and dropped only four games across three sets, concluding his first victory in the main Grand Slam draw on his seventh attempt.
In his next match, Buyunchaokete will face American wildcard Michael Zheng, who defeated Hungarian Fabian Marozsanyi in the first round with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. The winner of this match will advance to the 32 finalists.
Meanwhile, U Ibing has already secured his place in the third round, defeating Australian James Duckworth with a score of 7-5, 6-3, 6-1.
The first set proved to be the toughest for U, but the Chinese player managed to win it 7-5, taking the break late, after which he began to confidently control the game. In the second set, Duckworth's errors increased, and U took the lead 6-3. In the third set, the 26-year-old athlete demonstrated dominance, losing only one game to complete another two-set victory.
At the US Open this year, U has not lost a single set. He started his tournament by defeating another Australian, Adam Walton, with a score of 7-6(2), 6-2, 7-5, and then won against Duckworth. This result also marked U's first appearance in the third round of the US Open since his breakthrough campaign in 2022.
In the women's singles category, Chinese Wan Xinru finished her tournament by losing 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 to 21st seed Anna Kalinskaya in the second round. Wan initially led 4-2 in the first set, but Kalinskaya managed to fight back and win it 7-5. The Chinese athlete responded decisively in the second set, beating her opponent twice and winning 6-2, forcing the match into a deciding set.
Kalinskaya regained the initiative in the third set and ultimately won after two hours and 22 minutes of play. Wan finished the match with 39 points won against 22 for Kalinskaya and won 95 points against 94 for her opponent, but she managed to convert only three of her 11 break point opportunities. Before her exit from the tournament, Wan defeated Colombian Emiliana Arango with a score of 6-4, 6-2 in the first round.
