Dane Sweeny's US Open Journey Ends in Disappointment

Dane Sweeny’s first real taste of the big time ended with a limp, not a roar.

The Australian qualifier, who had ridden a late wildcard into the US Open and then into the third round, bowed out 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to 21st seed Luciano Darderi, his body and timing deserting him on the biggest stage of his career.

By the end, he was clutching at a troublesome hip and searching for a rhythm that never arrived. Australia, already reeling from Alex de Minaur’s shock loss to Botic van de Zandschulp, was left without a second-week singles player in New York for the first time in five years.

For Sweeny, that stung more than the scoreline.

"It's been an amazing week, a career-changing week, but I can't help but feel a bit disappointed just with today's performance," he admitted. He knew what was missing. The clean ball-striking that had carried him into the last 32 of a major for the first time vanished under Darderi’s weight of shot and his own misfiring body.

"I just wasn't really feeling it, just not really feeling the timing and the rhythm as I have been. I just made a lot of cheap errors and that was quite frustrating."

He never stopped trying to turn it into a dogfight. That was the part that hurt most.

"I was OK to lose a match, but I really wanted to test him more and bring a good level so I could make an absolute fight out of it," he said. "Win or lose, I wanted to really make him work for the victory at least and I wasn't able to do that."

Only a fortnight ago, Sweeny wasn’t even supposed to be here. Ranked 123 in the world and on the outside looking in, he slipped into the main draw when two late withdrawals opened the door for Tennis Australia to hand him the reciprocal wildcard originally earmarked for Alexei Popyrin.

He grabbed it with both hands. Three rounds later, he walks away from Flushing Meadows with a watershed result, a life-changing cheque for $402,500 and a surge up the rankings that reshapes his immediate future.

"The financial side of things, that will help with coaching and people you travel with," the 25-year-old said. The money buys him a team, the ranking buys him a schedule.

Provisionally, Sweeny is set to climb to world number 109. One more step – into the top 100 by season’s end – and he’ll no longer be begging for wildcards. He’ll stroll into the Australian Open on his own ranking for the first time.

"That's exciting too. But that will take care of itself," he insisted. He knows the sport’s obsession with numbers, but he also knows the trap.

"It's hard not to worry about that because we're indoctrinated to want that low number next to our name, but I can just focus on working hard, focus on improving. Particularly just staying really kind to myself and trying to enjoy the journey."

New York has given him a glimpse of what that journey could look like. Now he has to prove it wasn’t a one-off.

American hopes rocked on bruising day

While Sweeny’s run ended, the home crowd at Flushing Meadows endured a day that cut even deeper.

Three former US Open finalists — Taylor Fritz, Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova — all crashed out in the third round, ripping huge holes in the American challenge on both sides of the draw.

Fritz, the men’s ninth seed and 2024 runner-up, looked in complete control. Two sets up, cruising, yet to drop a set all tournament. Then Francisco Cerundolo caught fire.

The Argentine began to lean into his forehand, started finding lines, started believing. The match flipped. Fritz’s clean, orderly campaign suddenly turned into a scrap he couldn’t win as Cerundolo stormed back 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time.

For Fritz, it was his earliest exit in New York in four years. For the crowd on Arthur Ashe, it was a gut punch.

The women’s draw offered no comfort.

Madison Keys, the 2017 runner-up, looked like she was about to roll into the second week when she raced to a 6-1, 5-0 lead over Zheng Qinwen. Ten games later, she was out.

Zheng, fighting to claw her way out of a career slump, mounted one of the great escapes of the tournament. She dug in, refused to concede the inevitable and slowly dragged the match away from Keys. From 0-5 down in the deciding set, she surged back to win 1-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, collapsing on court in disbelief and joy when the final ball sailed long.

Her reward is brutal: a fourth-round meeting with 2022 champion and former world number one Iga Świątek. The Pole had her own battle, edging Czech Marie Bouzková in twin tiebreaks, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3), to keep her title push on track.

Anisimova, seeded 10 and last year’s runner-up, never found that kind of escape route. Locked in a season of frustration at the majors, she fell 6-2, 7-5 to Anastasia Potapova, another early exit in a year that refuses to turn.

On a day of American disappointment, one name held firm.

Coco Gauff, the defending champion and standard-bearer of US tennis, delivered the lone bright note. She took care of Spain’s Cristina Bucșa 6-3, 6-4, a straight-sets win that felt almost routine amid the chaos around her.

The stadium exhaled. The home hopes are thinner now, lighter on experience and scarred by upsets. But with Gauff still swinging, and the draw tightening, New York has not gone quiet yet.