| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 August-10 September |
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Fourth seed Holger Rune suffered a shock defeat in the US Open first round as former champion Dominic Thiem claimed an emotional win.
Rune lost 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-2 to world number 63 Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain on court five.
The 20-year-old Dane had made a pointed comment about his court assignment before the match.
Earlier, Thiem beat 25th seed Alexander Bublik to claim his first Grand Slam match win in more than two years.
There were also wins for last year’s runner-up Casper Ruud, ninth seed Taylor Fritz and 2022 semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe on the first day’s play in New York.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, seeded second behind Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, did not start his opening match against France’s Alexandre Muller until 23:00 local time [04:00 BST].
‘High intensity’ Rune suffers early exit
Denmark’s Rune reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July but has played only twice since, with both matches ending in defeat.
The lack of form coming into the last major of the season clearly played a role, with Rune also taking a medical timeout for treatment on his left leg.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain Leon Smith said Rune had looked “irritable” during practice sessions.
“There were signs that something was not quite right. He was hitting tennis balls way up into the stand,” said Smith.
“Rune plays really high intensity – really engaged with the crowd, constantly getting hyped up, and that is tiring.
“The way he plays he needs to be on it mentally and emotionally.”
Speaking after the loss, Rune said he “did not expect” to play on the smaller court five instead of one of the main show courts.
“I feel like it’s normal. I mean, the better you get in the rankings, it’s more, benefits you should get with playing in better conditions,” he said.
“So I think that’s a normal way and it’s also how the ATP do it with all the players.
“But they didn’t do it with me here. That’s obviously disappointing, but not going to blame the court on the loss.”
Today is pretty special – Thiem
Thiem’s last win at a Grand Slam came at the 2021 Australian Open, where he reached the fourth round.
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