Karen Khachanov Upsets Felix Auger-Aliassime at US Open

Karen Khachanov defeated third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the third round of the US Open, with the Canadian saying he became unwell during the match.

Auger-Aliassime edged a close first-set tiebreaker, but Khachanov took control across the next three sets in a match that lasted almost three and a half hours. The Russian veteran was unseeded for this year’s tournament, while Auger-Aliassime arrived in New York as the third seed and a two-time US Open semi-finalist.

The result is a significant turnaround for Khachanov after a difficult stretch. He came into New York ranked 50th, his lowest ranking since 2017, and had lost four consecutive matches before the US Open, including three straight opening-round defeats during the hard-court warm-up events.

Khachanov recovers after first-set tiebreak

Auger-Aliassime claimed the opening set 7-6, winning the tiebreak 7-5, but Khachanov responded immediately. He won the second set 6-3 before taking the final two sets by identical 6-2 scores to complete the four-set victory.

The Canadian’s error count grew as the match progressed. Auger-Aliassime finished with 47 unforced errors, compared with 30 from Khachanov. Khachanov also won key points with backhand winners hit down the line as he turned the match in his favour after the opening set.

Auger-Aliassime said after the match that he began to feel unwell in the middle of the second set. He said he was dizzy, was seeing spots and could not recover as the contest continued.

“I just couldn’t, feel well and was dizzy and seeing spots and couldn’t recover,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I thought maybe it would pass, but it didn’t.”

He said he had felt fine in the days before the match and had experienced no issue before taking the court on Thursday. Auger-Aliassime said he planned to undergo tests to determine what caused the problem.

“I cannot beat him or anybody in this draw feeling the way I felt today,” Auger-Aliassime said. “So, if I cannot move, we’re not talking about tennis here. So, it’s unfortunate.”

A tough exit for the third seed

Khachanov said he noticed after the third set that Auger-Aliassime was physically down, though he did not speculate on the cause. He pointed to his own effort over the near three-and-a-half-hour contest, saying he had stayed in the fight and tried to produce his best effort.

The Russian had already reached the third round at each of the three Grand Slams played in 2026, and his US Open win extends that record at the season’s final major. Khachanov previously reached the US Open semi-finals in 2022 and has regularly featured among the seeds at Grand Slam tournaments over much of the past decade.

For Auger-Aliassime, the defeat follows a disrupted North American hard-court swing. After reaching the quarter-finals at both the French Open and Wimbledon, he withdrew from the Rogers Cup in Montreal in early August because of a back injury. He then won two matches in Cincinnati before losing to Frances Tiafoe in the round of 16.

Auger-Aliassime entered the US Open without a coach after separating from long-time coach Frederic Fontang in July. He said he was moving forward with his team and expected to announce a new coach in the coming weeks. His second-round departure also followed the first-round exit of fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic.