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Russian veteran Karen Khachanov defeated an ailing third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime Thursday in the second round of the US Open in four sets. Khachanov, unseeded this year but a familiar face in the latter stages of big tournaments, beat Auger-Aliaissime 6-7 (5\/7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. The 26-year-old Canadian, a two-time semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows, eked out a first-set tiebreaker against the hard-hitting Russian, who himself made the US Open semifinals in 2022.<\/p>\n
But Auger-Aliassime, who appeared to give up quickly on some balls, was undone by a rash of unforced errors in the subsequent sets. He made 47 in all, compared with 30 for Khachanov.<\/p>\n
Khachanov also won several key points with blistering backhand down-the-line winners.<\/p>\n
Auger-Aliassime said he began feeling unwell in the middle of the second set.<\/p>\n
“I just couldn’t, feel well and was dizzy and seeing spots and couldn’t recover. I thought maybe it would pass, but it didn’t,” the Canadian said after the match.<\/p>\n
Auger-Aliassime felt fine the last few days and had no problem before the match on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“I’m going to run some tests and see what comes out of it,” said Auger-Aliassime, who called Khachanov a “great player” but added that he was in no condition to advance.<\/p>\n
“I cannot beat him or anybody in this draw feeling the way I felt today,” he said. “So, if I cannot move, we’re not talking about tennis here. So, it’s unfortunate.”<\/p>\n
Khachanov said he noticed\u00a0after the third set that Auger-Aliassime was “down” physically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Let’s say maybe it was physical aspect, maybe not, maybe the heat, I don’t know,” Khachanov said. “At this point I don’t want to take out the credit from myself because I was staying there fighting three hours and a half almost you know, trying to bring the best effort.”<\/p>\n
Difficult year<\/p>\n
A fixture among the seeds at Grand Slam tournaments for most of the last decade, Khachanov, 30, came into New York ranked 50th, his lowest since 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Russian reached the third round of all three Grand Slams already played in 2026. But he had lost four matches in a row, including three straight first-round defeats at US Open hard court warmups.<\/p>\n
“This year been challenging in general for me,” said Khachanov, who feels like more of an underdog than in the past.<\/p>\n
“You have to focus step by step on every match and try to get this rhythm, this confidence, you know, and build your form and build your tennis,” he said.<\/p>\n
After reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon, Auger-Aliassime withdrew from the Rogers Cup in Montreal in early August due to a back injury. He won two matches at the Cincinnati Open in mid-August, but lost in the round of 16 to Frances Tiafoe.<\/p>\n
Auger-Aliassime entered this year’s US Open without a coach after parting ways with long-time coach Frederic Fontang in July.<\/p>\n
Auger-Aliassime is “moving forward” with his team and expects to announce a new coach in the next couple of weeks, he said.<\/p>\n
The Canadian’s exit follows that of 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, the fourth seed who fell in the first round.<\/p>\n
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)<\/p>\n
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