US Open: Arnaldi sees off spirited Fils for first Grand Slam third round

Italian Matteo Arnaldi reached the third round of the US Open by beating Frenchman Arthur Fils 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-4 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Thursday evening.

The win sees 22-year-old Arnaldi make the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, with the Italian having failed to win a main draw match in his career prior to the 2023 US Open.

With the encounter lasting just under four hours, Arnaldi weathered 57 winners from the big-hitting French teen, serving well under pressure and making less errors when it counted. The Italian was particularly impressive in the fifth set, racing out to a 4-1 lead after Fils leveled the match winning the fourth 7-5.

Arnaldi, ranked No 61, will play No 16 seed Cameron Norrie next. Ahead of his victory, the 22-year-old Italian benefited from the abandonment of Australian Jason Kubler (6-3, 1-0).

Fils, ranked No 48, won against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, the No 24 seed (4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5) in the previous round of the Flushing Meadows tournament.

New York (Grand Slam), other second-round results (USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, hard, USD 44.700.000, most recent results first):

• Daniil Medvedev vs. Christopher O’Connell
• Carlos Alcaraz vs. Lloyd Harris
• Felipe Meligeni Alves vs. Sebastian Baez
• Botic van de Zandschulp vs. Daniel Evans: thursday
• Gael Monfils vs. Andrey Rublev: thursday
• Nicolas Jarry vs. Alex Michelsen: thursday
• Cameron Norrie beat Yu Hsiou Hsu (Q): 7-5, 6-4, 6-4
• Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Stan Wawrinka: thursday
• Alex De Minaur (13) beat Yibing Wu: 6-1, 6-2, 6-1
• Arthur Rinderknech beat Matteo Berrettini: 6-4, 5-3 ret.
• Grigor Dimitrov (19) beat Andy Murray: 6-3, 6-4, 6-1
• Jack Draper beat Hubert Hurkacz (17): 6-2, 6-4, 7-5
• Michael Mmoh (WC) beat John Isner (WC): 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (7)
• Jannik Sinner (6) beat Lorenzo Sonego: 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
• Alexander Zverev (12) beat Daniel Altmaier: 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
• Taylor Fritz (9) beat Juan Pablo Varillas: 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
• Frances Tiafoe (10) beat Sebastian Ofner: 6-3, 6-1, 6-4
• Zhizhen Zhang beat Casper Ruud (5): 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2
• Jakub Mensik (Q) beat Titouan Droguet (Q): 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (1), 6-3
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (21) beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo: 6-1, 6-4, 6-3
• Tommy Paul (14) beat Roman Safiullin: 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3
• Rinky Hijikata (WC) beat Marton Fucsovics: 6-1, 6-2, 6-1
• Ben Shelton beat Dominic Thiem: 7-6 (1), 1-0 ret.
• Adrian Mannarino (22) beat Fabian Marozsan: 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1
• Jiri Vesely beat Francisco Cerundolo (20): 7-6 (5), 6-2, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (6)
• Novak Djokovic (2) beat Bernabe Zapata Miralles: 6-4, 6-1, 6-1
• Benjamin Bonzi (WC) beat Christopher Eubanks (28): 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7)
• Aslan Karatsev beat Roberto Carballes Baena: 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
• Laslo Djere (32) beat Hugo Gaston (Q): 6-1, 6-2, 6-3
• Borna Gojo (Q) beat Mackenzie McDonald: 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
• Dominic Stricker (Q) beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (7): 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-3