Michelsen removes Nakashima, the man with the most hard-court wins on tour, in straight sets

Brandon Nakashima has won more matches on hard courts this season than any other man, 23 of them, and reached finals in Brisbane and Montreal and the semi-finals at the Cincinnati Masters 1000.

On Wednesday afternoon at Flushing Meadows he lost to a compatriot four years his junior, in straight sets, without ever getting into the match. Alex Michelsen beat the No. 16 seed 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round of the US Open for the first time.

Michelsen, who turned 22 last week, had never gone beyond the second round here. He served his way through this one, and Nakashima, ranked No. 17 and one of the form players of the North American swing, never had an answer. He will face Spaniard Daniel Merida, who defeated Russian Andrey Rublev, the No 23 seed (6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4), in the next round

Arthur Fils won the Cincinnati Masters 1000 eleven days before this tournament began. Nakashima, who reached the semi-finals at the same event, is out in the second. Both were among the men most obviously positioned to profit from the way this fortnight has opened up before losing as early as possible.

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A quarter of the draw with nobody left in it

The section Michelsen now finds himself in is the one Novak Djokovic vacated on the opening night. The four-time champion, seeded No. 4, lost to Mariano Navone 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 across four hours and 36 minutes, his first defeat in the opening round of a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open, and left the court in tears having been treated for his back and been sick beside it.

What remains of that quarter is Michelsen, Navone, Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Jacob Fearnley and Daniel Merida. One of them will play in a US Open quarter-final. Rublev and Berrettini have been there before at this tournament. Nobody, before Sunday, would have picked any of the others.

Merida beat Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday for only the second Grand Slam win of his career, a month after reaching a career-high World No. 39. Berrettini put out Stan Wawrinka 7-6, 7-6, 6-0 on Monday in the Swiss veteran’s final US Open, and then drew Navone.