US Open stunned after Aussie underdogs knock out massive names for $1.3 million payday

James Duckworth and Alexei Popyrin have starred on a remarkable day for Australian tennis at the US Open to join Kim Birrell and Maya Joint in advancing to the second round. And with Taylah Preston already winning through on Monday, they've snared a combined $1.325 million (and maybe more).

Duckworth caused a major boilover by knocking out men's 30th seed and French Open semi-finalist Matteo Arnaldi. The Aussie underdog continued a red-hot run of form to shock his Italian opponent with a 5-7 6-3 6-2 7-6 (10-8) comeback victory.

Popyrin's victory was just as impressive, taking down former World No.3 and grand slam semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov. The World No.130 has endured a wretched run of form and injuries, but is back in the winner's circle at grand slam level after a 3-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 triumph.

Birrell saved a match point and a restless night's sleep to finally break through for her maiden singles victory at the US Open. The World No.71 beat Petra Marcinko 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 after the match had been suspended overnight due to rain. It was Birrell's first win at the US Open after losing all three of her previous tournament openers - in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The brilliant day continued when Joint beat Liudmila Samsonova 3-6 6-2 6-2. Joint rallied to take out the higher-ranked Russian to continue her revival after a horror start to 2026.

Preston had earlier won her first-round match on Monday, making it five Aussies into the second round after the first two days. Their reward is a guaranteed $AU265,000 payday each - and even more if they can get to the third round.

Birrell is due to marry her coach Matt Fraser and reckons the massive cheque will go nicely on their honeymoon. "Oh my gosh, I don't think I'll be spending it here," she told AAP in New York.

"I'll definitely save some of it. We're getting married at the end of the year so that helps a lot and maybe I'll buy some extra flowers. And we've got a mortgage. Yeah, the mortgage."

Rinky Hijikata wasn't as fortunate, going down in four sets against third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. And Aleksandar Vukic lost a marathon in five sets against Rei Sakamoto after it too was postponed overnight.

Wins for Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka

Elsewhere, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz made a winning return after a four-month absence with a wrist injury. The Spaniard beat Russia's Roman Safiullin 6-4 6-4 6-4 to pass his first test with flying colours.

"It's been a really tough five months for me," Alcaraz said. "Being able to step on the Arthur Ashe, being able to compete again, I couldn't decide to come back in a better tournament. It's a really special place for me."

Aryna Sabalenka started her bid for a rare US Open three-peat with a comfortable 6-2 6-4 victory over Camila Osorio. "She brought the fight," Sabalenka said. "She battled really well and I just tried to stay as aggressive as possible.

"I think I played great. She's a tough opponent, makes you work really hard to get every point, so I'm happy that I was able to close the match in straight sets."

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