Ben Shelton might've won his second-round match in straight sets, but one observer was unimpressed.

That happened to be his girlfriend, U.S. Women's National Team star Trinity Rodman.

Rodman snuck into the media room and asked why her boyfriend didn't make a serve in the win over 135 mph. He said the cold was the main reason after he wondered why she was given a question at all.

For the love of the game, right?

Carlos Alcaraz has fond memories of Flushing, of winning the U.S. Open at the age of 19 in 2022 and reaching the semifinals the following summer.

But the moment that sticks with him the most, the match is etched in his mind, isn’t a happy one. It is of last August, when he came to Queens coming off titles at the French Open and Wimbledon.

He hardly had time to unpack, stunningly losing in the second round to Botic van de Zandschulp, an unseeded Dutchman who entered the match the 74th-ranked player in the world.

“If I’m honest, I thought about last year when I stepped on the court,” Alcaraz said Wednesday night. “Some bad thoughts. I was nervous about it, like thinking, ‘OK, I don’t want to do the same thing as I did last year, losing in the second round.’ ”

READ MORE

Aryna Sabalenka made quick work of Polina Kudermetova in a straight-sets 7-6(4), 6-2 victory. It marked Sabalenka's 30th career victory at the U.S. Open, which she won last year for the first time.

She'll next play Leylah Fernandez in the third round on Friday.

McCartney Kessler’s run in the U.S. Open ended in the second round after the rising American tennis player earned her first win at the tournament earlier in the week. 

Falling to Markéta Vondroušová, 7-6, 6-2, the match played out like their previous meeting in the second round of Wimbledon. 

“I think that I came out playing the correct way, and I played a really good first set. I think at Wimbledon it took me almost two full sets to figure out how I wanted to play against her,” Kessler said. “I really think it was a matter of one point in the tiebreaker that decided the match. Unfortunately didn’t go my way.” 

The former Florida Gators tennis star will still appear in the women’s doubles tournament, which begins on Thursday, but she’s looking to just take as many lessons away as she can from this year’s singles tournament. 

“Every match I play is a learning lesson and I’m just going to try to use this as a positive, and hopefully build on it for the rest of this year and next year,” Kessler added. 

The 26-year-old is only in her second year on tour — a fact “I think a lot of people forget,” according to Kessler — and she reached a top-30 world ranking in June. This year, she defeated world No. 3 Coco Gauff at the Dubai Open in February and World No. 5 Mirra Andreeva at the Canadian Open earlier this summer.

U.S. Women's National Team star Trinity Rodman was on hand in Flushing to watch Ben Shelton take on Carreno Busta on Wednesday night.

In a clip that was shared by the U.S. Open's X account, Rodman was seen with a big smile in clapping during a moment in the match.

The two went public with their relationship in March.

The former LSU gymnast was enjoying the action on Wednesday night in Queens, taking in the Carlos Alcaraz-Mattia Bellucci match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Faced with the vibrancy of youth, Novak Djokovic still remained unbeaten through the first two rounds of the U.S. Open in his career. 

Recovering from a first-set loss in which his opponent, American Zachary Svajda, flexed his agility and persistence, Djokovic took the next three to secure the victory 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday afternoon and move on to the third round for a 19th straight time. 

The win pushed Djokovic into a tie with Roger Federer for the second-most wins in hard-court Grand Slams at 191, trailing only Serena Williams’ 200. 

He will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie in Round 3 on Friday. 

“I still have desire to compete with the young guys,” said Djokovic, who showcased his trademark violin celebration after the 2-hour, 31-minute match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here playing.”

READ MORE

Daniil Medvedev is heading home with a purse much lighter than he thought.

The fiery Russian was fined $42,500 for his first-round outburst -- that included riling up fans after a bizarre scene in which a photographer wandered onto the court during his matchup with Benjamin Bonzi and smashing his racket against his sideline chair after the loss.

The punishment handed down by tournament referee Jake Garner includes $30,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and another $12,500 for racket abuse.

That figure represents over a third of his $110,000 prize money -- insult to injury following his third straight first-round loss in a Grand Slam event.

Taylor Townsend's victory over Jelena Ostapenko came with some extra spiciness.

As they went to shake the umpire's hand after the 7-5, 6-1 result for the unseeded American, they began to jaw in a heated post-match moment.

“It’s competition… people get upset when they lose," Townsend said in an on-court interview. "Some people say bad things. She told me I have no class and no education and to see what happens when we get outside the U.S.”

Townsend, the World No. 1 in doubles, moves onto Round 3 for the fourth time in her career and her first time since 2023.

With a 6-4 7-5 6-7 7-5 win over fellow American Martin Damm, Frances Tiafoe moved onto the third round of the US Open -- the sixth straight tournament he's accomplished the feat.

He's won seven of his last eight matches in Flushing, the only outlier bein a loss to Taylor Fritz in last year's semifinal.

The No. 17 seed awaits his next opponent with the matchup slated for Friday.

Don’t fret, everyone, there’s no need to worry about Novak Djokovic’s demeanor during the U.S. Open. 

Djokovic assuaged concerns that he wasn’t as excited as he’s been in the past during this tournament, saying his more subdued reactions had more to do with his “frustration with his game” than anything to do with his motivation. 

“Then I kind of go through stuff internally that, you don't want to know the details what I'm going through and telling myself,” Djokovic said after defeating American Zachary Svajda in the second round. “Yeah, I'm just trying to be locked in, you know. Just trying to solve the riddle once I'm on the court. It's not like I'm not finding joy on the court competing. I enjoy competing, but I don't enjoy not playing well. That's why I put extra pressure on myself and my team to be better the next day, the next match.”

The tennis star is headed to the U.S. Open third round for the 19th consecutive time, but has not seemed happy with the way he’s played early on in the tournament, including on Wednesday. 

He did joke, though, to the reporter who asked the question, “I'll make sure I'll fist-pump just for you, for your eyes only next one.”

Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open, defeating American Zachary Svajda in four sets. 

After Svajda took the first set from Djokovic in a tiebreak, Djokovic took the next three sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to complete the win inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

The win sends him to the third round of the U.S. Open for the 19th time and he passed Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam third round appearances in his career with 75 now. 

Djokovic will face the winner of the match between Cameron Norrie and Francisco Comesana,