Toby Samuel gains his first Grand Slam match win, defeating Tomas Machac 6-2 6-3 6-2 to reach the US Open second round.
The 23-year-old British qualifier completed the victory in just over 90 minutes on his main-draw debut, striking 24 winners and committing 13 unforced errors to Machac's 22 winners and 25 unforced errors. Samuel dropped only five points across his nine service games and closed the third set with a six-game run after trailing 2-0, saving two break points in the sequence.
"It means everything to me. It's what I dreamt of as a kid watching these big tournaments," Samuel said. He arrives in New York after coming through qualifying, having recovered from a 2024 spell out with a bone bruise to his right arm that saw him fall close to 2,000 in the world two years ago.
Samuel now sits inside the live ATP top 100 and collected $140,000 (£103,000), the biggest payday of his career so far. His rise followed a 36-from-39 run on the Challenger Tour that returned him to the top 300 last year, a semi-final showing at Eastbourne, a Wimbledon wildcard, and a third Challenger title on Winnipeg's hard courts. His new ranking would secure automatic qualification for next January's Australian Open, completing a set of major appearances a year after he first entered the top 250.
Several University of South Carolina teammates were in the crowd and Samuel credited their "fighting energy" with helping him. He also admitted to being starstruck early in his rise but said he is learning to treat top players "not as stars but people I can play against." His reward in round two is a match with Czech 18th seed Jiri Lehecka.
By contrast, Cameron Norrie, the 29th seed, exited in the first round after a four-set loss to Luca Van Assche. Norrie recovered from an early service break to take the opening set in a tie-break, but managed only seven games across the next three sets and finished with 49 unforced errors to his opponent's 21.
"It was really tough," Norrie said. "I was pretty nervous and it showed in the beginning of the first set, and I did well to steal that first set. I could never really maintain a good level of energy and momentum. That was super frustrating and pretty surprising. I felt like I lost to myself today." The defeat represents his third consecutive first-round exit at a Grand Slam; he had reached at least the third round on each of his past three US Open appearances.
Rain curtailed evening play, leaving British number four Jacob Fearnley's first-round match unfinished. Fearnley, a lucky loser who had been knocked out in qualifying, is a break down at 4-3 in the first set against Spain's 65th-ranked Martin Landaluce, with play set to resume on Monday.
