There is one more Australian left in the singles draw at the United States Open. While most expected Alex de Minaur the final Australian to be standing, he is not. On Thursday, we saw greatness from the 123rd ranked player in the world, Dane Sweeny of Penrith.
Sweeny was not only lowly ranked, he was a major underdog too, in his second round match against Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the 13th ranked player and two-time grand slam semifinalist (2024 Wimbledon and 2025 French Open). According to matchstat.com, the probability of Musetti defeating Sweeny was 91.76%.
But it was Sweeny that came through with the convincing 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory. Sweeny had the statistical advantage when it came to double faults. Sweeny only had two, while Musetti had seven. Sweeny also broke Musetti eight times in 17 opportunities.
This was Sweeny’s third career grand slam victory, all coming in 2026. In the first round of the 2026 Australian Open, Sweeny defeated French legend Gael Monfils, who is retiring at the end of the year. In four sets, Sweeny, who was an Australian qualifier at the time, came through with a 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 win. Monfils was seeded as high as sixth in the world, and made the semifinals of the 2008 French Open and 2016 United States Open.
Then in the first round of the 2026 United States Open, Sweeny defeated Corentin Moutet of France, 7-6, 6-4, 3-0. Moutet withdrew with a wrist injury.
Next up for Sweeny is another Italian, Luciano Darderi, the 21st seed. This is their first ever meeting. Meanwhile, Australian Alex de Minaur, the sixth seed, was beaten in the second round on Thursday night, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands.
