Chris O’Connell became the sixth Australian men’s singles winner on Day 2 at Flushing Meadows after his defeat of Chilean Nicolas Jarry.
New York, USA, 28 August 2024 | Dan Imhoff
Chris O’Connell has sprung his biggest Grand Slam upset in two-and-a-half years, knocking out Chilean 26th seed Nicolas Jarry in the first round of the US Open.
The world No.87 – who has struggled with persistent injuries this season, including three mid-match retirements – overcame the former world No.18 in two hours and 56 minutes, 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-3.
“When the draw came out, I felt pretty confident about the match-up,” O’Connell told Stan Sport. “I could use my slice, he’s a big guy so it’s tough for him to get down to those balls.
“I felt like I played a solid match. Just one hiccup in the third there but got over the line in the end. Once he got in front in the third, he really got on a roll, so it was hard to wrestle back that momentum, but once I got that momentum, I really got on top of him.”
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Victory sets a second-round meeting with Italian qualifier Matteo Bellucci, a straight-sets winner over former champion Stan Wawrinka, and took Australia’s tally of men’s singles winners on Day 2 to six following earlier wins for 10th seed Alex de Minaur, Max Purcell, Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Tristan Schoolkate.
“[Bellucci is a] lefty, I trained with him about a month ago,” O’Connell said. “So I sort of know what to expect, but he’s a young Italian guy, he’s on the rise, so yeah, another tough match.”
In his first encounter against a top 50 opponent, Li Tu tested third seed Carlos Alcaraz before the Spaniard advanced 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-1. Aleksandar Vukic fell to Purcell in an all-Australian affair, while Italian 31st seed Flavio Cobolli gained the better of world No.70 James Duckworth 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-4.
The 30-year-old O’Connell improved to 3-6 against top 30 opponents this season and 11-15 overall at tour level.
He added to hard-court wins over then 25th-ranked Jan Lennard Struff in the round of 32 in Doha and his biggest win of the season over then world No.21 Frances Tiafoe in the third round in Miami.
It was O’Connell’s highest-ranked Grand Slam victim since he derailed 13th seed Diego Schwartzman in the second round at Melbourne Park in 2022, only his second win over a seed at a Slam.
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