Cobolli rallies from two sets down as Fritz and Keys advance at US Open

Flavio Cobolli rallied from two sets down to beat Francisco Comesana 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and reach the second round of the US Open in New York on Tuesday, while Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys also progressed. Fritz defeated Darwin Blanch 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Arthur Ashe Stadium and Keys overcame Alina Korneeva 7-5, 6-4.

The fifth-seeded Cobolli trailed by two sets early in his match before mounting a comeback that stretched beyond four hours; he took the final three sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to complete the turnaround and record his first career Grand Slam victory after losing the opening two sets. Comesana had produced strong early tennis to build the two-set advantage, but Cobolli gradually found more depth on his groundstrokes and shifted the momentum.

Comesana’s aggressive, clean hitting put sustained pressure on the French Open finalist in the opening stages, yet Cobolli recovered to win the third and fourth sets and then hold steady in a closely fought deciding set. "No quitFlavio Cobolli comes back from two sets down for the first time in his career to pull off a five-set stunner! pic.twitter.com/vW6UXhks8B— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2026"

Fritz produced a straight-sets victory over fellow American teenager Darwin Blanch, using serve and baseline power to control the match on Arthur Ashe Stadium and close it 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. The ninth seed, who reached the US Open final in 2024, arrived in New York after winning the Washington title and reaching the Cincinnati quarter-finals.

Keys, seeded 22nd, faced a 19-year-old Alina Korneeva and had to steady herself after early nerves following last year's first-round exit at Flushing Meadows; she won 7-5, 6-4. Keys lifted her first-serve percentage from 48 per cent in the opening set to nearly 70 per cent in the second, which helped her seize control as the match progressed.

Cobolli will next play the winner of the first-round match between American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy and Australia's Tristan Schoolkate, Fritz will meet the winner of Mattia Bellucci versus Zsombor Piros in Round 2, and Keys will face either Czech qualifier Lucie Havlickova or Hungary's Anna Bondar in the second round.