US Open Upsets: Fritz and Cobolli Collapse in Opposing Scenarios

When Taylor Fritz served in the third game of the fifth set, he had just broken early in the third set and was leading by two sets. But three games later, he seemingly lost himself: backhands sailing long, drop shots lacking touch, and Francisco Cerundolo, an unseeded player, suddenly playing as if he had found the key to the match. As the chair umpire announced the final score 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in favor of Cerundolo, Fritz could only shake his head: “I don’t understand how I let that happen.” The 2026 US Open has just completed its first week, but a seismic wave has spread. Six of the top 10 men’s seeds were eliminated, a shocking number. Among them were Taylor Fritz, the No. 9 seed, and Flavio Cobolli, the No. 5 seed. Both fell in the third round, but their losing scripts were completely opposite. Fritz led by two sets but could not close; Cobolli won the first-set tiebreak and then collapsed in the next three sets, including a 0-6 bagel set. Looking at the scoreboard, the Fritz-Cerundolo match is a lesson in state management. No data is available on serving, return points won, or break-point conversion, but the momentum is clear enough. Fritz controlled the rhythm completely for two sets, even breaking early in the third. From there, his opponent began to change return positions and approach the net more often. Fritz failed to respond with tactical adjustments; he made double faults and lost confidence at key points. Cobolli’s collapse was even more severe in terms of score: winning the first-set tiebreak, then losing 3-6, 0-6, 3-6 to Alexander Blockx, a young Belgian. A 0-6 set is often a sign of psychological or physical meltdown. Without medical reports, I cannot confirm the cause. But in my years of following tennis, I have noticed that such a bagel set usually stems from disorientation, when a player can no longer maintain the structure of his game. Many would quickly call this the biggest upset of the tournament. But actually, in my view, the surprise is not in the names eliminated, but in the way they lost. Fritz did not lose because Cerundolo played ten times better; he lost because he could not find a way out of the emotional spiral after being pulled back. Cobolli lost because he allowed a 0-6 bagel at a decisive moment. This reveals a weakness in match management, not a technical issue. The media often glorifies comebacks as divine moments. But I believe legends are not made by winning one set, but by the way a player stands firm when the tide turns. Fritz and Cobolli failed to do that. The question now is whether these two defeats are exceptions or signs of a longer-term decline. Fritz will need to review how he conserved energy in the final sets; Cobolli needs to regain his spirit after an unprecedented bagel set. The first match does not determine a career, but it determines how you listen to every match after. I will carefully record information from training sessions and locker rooms in the coming days, because the ball rolls and forgets its path, but paper does not. And when the locker room no longer echoes with footsteps, I hear the heartbeat of the match most clearly.