Fritz, Keys and Anisimova exit US Open as Zheng and Cerundolo stage third-round comebacks

American contenders eliminated in third round

Three former U.S. Open finalists from the United States exited the tournament in the third round on Saturday. Last year's runner-up Amanda Anisimova, 2017 finalist Madison Keys, and 2024 finalist Taylor Fritz all suffered defeats across the grounds at Flushing Meadows. Anisimova, the 10th seed, fell in straight sets to Austria's Anastasia Potapova, who equalled her best career performance at a Grand Slam. Keys surrendered a 5-0 deciding-set lead against qualifier Qinwen Zheng, while Fritz was eliminated after winning the opening two sets against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo.

Zheng stages deciding-set comeback against Keys

World number 121 Zheng Qinwen mounted a recovery on Grandstand court to eliminate 22nd seed Madison Keys 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5. Keys, the 2025 Australian Open champion, held a 5-0 advantage in the third set and earned a match point while serving at 5-1. After Keys netted a down-the-line backhand on match point, Zheng generated a break point with an inside-out backhand and converted it with a forehand winner to reach 5-2. The 2024 Olympic champion pushed Keys behind the baseline with high-arcing groundstrokes, claiming seven consecutive games to secure her sixth straight win at the tournament.

I'm just telling myself keep holding every single point, never give up, stay there and somehow little by little it just happened.

Cerundolo and Potapova progress with upset victories

On Arthur Ashe Stadium, 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo recovered from a two-set deficit to defeat Taylor Fritz 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Cerundolo repelled three break points at 4-3 in the fifth set before breaking Fritz and serving out the contest from 0-30 down in his final service game. The victory marked only the second time in Cerundolo's career that he overcame a two-set deficit. Earlier on Saturday, 24th seed Potapova defeated Anisimova 6-2, 7-5, limiting the American to converting only 3 of her 16 break point opportunities.

In the third I started to get into it, step by step, and in the fourth and fifth I played really good tennis. Taylor is a top player, he's played in the final here, so winning, my first time on Arthur Ashe, it's fantastic. I hope you enjoy, I know I'm not the local one, sorry, I try my best, hopefully I can get you all on my side in the next one.

Swiatek advances as players navigate venue conditions

Eighth seed Iga Swiatek secured her place in the fourth round with a 7-6(3), 7-6(3) win over Marie Bouzkova on the Grandstand showcourt. Swiatek noted that the venue, which accommodates a little over 8,000 spectators, offered a more manageable setting than the nearly 24,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium. Italian fifth seed Flavio Cobolli also commented on the court conditions and tournament noise levels following his 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 loss to Belgian Alexander Blockx on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Cobolli stated that tour players are accustomed to silence during points and called the New York atmosphere very loud. Swiatek moves on to face Zheng in the fourth round.

This court is nice. Honestly, I don't see any negatives about it. It has fewer screens. It's smaller in a way that's more normal, I would say, because Ashe is huge. The court seems small compared to the green part that you have around it.