US Open 2026 second week

Novak Djokovic had won 78 consecutive first-round matches at Grand Slams. The last time he lost one was 2006, when George W. Bush was president and Rafael Nadal had two major titles. On August 30, Mariano Navone beat him 7-6, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in four hours and 36 minutes at Flushing Meadows, the first shock of the US Open 2026 bracket. That result did more than end a 20-year streak. It removed the most reliable landmine from the men’s draw before the tournament had properly started, and the US Open 2026 second week looks very different because of it. The Alcaraz US Open title defense is the story, and he’s playing like it The Alcaraz US Open title defense began with the Spaniard arriving in New York as both defending champion and injury comeback, which is not a combination that usually ends well. It has gone fine. He handled Y.B. Wu 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in the second round and reached the fourth round without dropping meaningful ground. His next assignment is Tommy Paul, the No. 20 seed, who just came through a five-set win over No. 15 Alexander Bublik. Alexander Zverev is the tournament’s top seed, elevated by an absence at the top of the men’s game, and survived a five-setter against Quentin Halys in the second round. Daniil Medvedev is still in it. So is Karen Khachanov, who knocked out third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Botic van de Zandschulp, who took out sixth seed Alex de Minaur. The pattern is clear enough. Seeds are falling in every quarter, and the player best positioned to take advantage is the one who won here last year. The Americans are having a week Through three rounds, only two seeded Americans had been eliminated. That is an unusually strong showing for a home contingent that has spent most of the last decade producing quarterfinalists rather than champions. Tommy Paul’s win over Bublik pushed him toward a career-best result in New York after two previous fourth-round finishes. Frances Tiafoe beat Valentin Vacherot in straight sets to reach the fourth round. Taylor Fritz advanced past Mattia Bellucci. Ben Shelton drew Denis Shapovalov. Alex Michelsen came through Daniel Merida in straights. On the women’s side, No. 26 Emma Navarro upset No. 7 Karolina Muchova to reach the fourth round for the first time since her 2024 semifinal run. Aryna Sabalenka, defending the women’s title, has moved through comfortably, taking out Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4. Elena Rybakina arrived with a real path to the world No. 1 ranking depending on how the fortnight goes. What the Djokovic result actually signals There is a temptation to file the Navone loss as a one-off. Five sets, four and a half hours, a hot opponent playing the match of his life. It happens. The counterargument sits in the length of the streak. Seventy-eight consecutive first-round wins means Djokovic did not lose an opener across roughly two decades of Grand Slam tennis, through injuries, coaching changes and every version of his own form. A streak that survives that much does not end randomly. The more useful reading is about the physical demand of best-of-five in the first week. Djokovic’s edge for years was that he could win a five-setter in round one and still be fresher than his opponent in round four. Navone taking the last two sets 6-2, 6-1 suggests something different happened. None of that settles anything. He has answered this question before and will get chances to answer it again. But the men’s draw at a major is now genuinely open in a way it has not been since roughly 2004, and that is worth naming. The money story is worth pausing on US Open prize money 2026 reached a record total purse of $108 million, up 20% on last year. The singles champions take home $5.5 million each. Twenty percent in a single year is a large jump for any sporting event. It reflects two things: the tournament’s revenue is climbing fast, and player pressure on Grand Slam prize money distribution has produced results. For context on what that number means, the champion’s cheque alone is larger than the entire prize pool of most tour-level events. The expanded mixed doubles championship, played across August 24 to 26 before the main draw began, is part of the same shift. The USTA restructured the event to draw singles stars into a competition that had become an afterthought, and it worked. How the rest of the fortnight sets up The US Open 2026 second week sits inside a main draw that runs 15 days. Women’s doubles concludes Friday, September 11 at noon Eastern. Men’s doubles follows Saturday, September 12, also at noon. The singles finals split across the final weekend. The women’s final is Saturday, September 12. The men’s final is Sunday, September 13. ESPN carries all 16 courts across ESPN and ESPN2, with Spanish-language commentary on ESPN Deportes. ABC has all three Sundays, including the men’s final. One practical note for anyone planning to watch: Arthur Ashe Stadium runs on its own schedule. Only the first match on each court has a fixed start time. Everything after runs on a “not before” basis, which is why a match scheduled for 3 p.m. regularly starts at 5. What to actually watch for The men’s title is Alcaraz’s to lose, and that sentence would have been unthinkable in a US Open 2026 bracket that still had Djokovic in it. Back-to-back US Open titles would put him in a small group and would confirm that the injury layoff cost him nothing. The more interesting question is on the American side. A home player has not won the men’s singles title here since Andy Roddick in 2003. This is the deepest collective American showing in years, and one of Paul, Tiafoe, Fritz or Shelton is going to get a genuine opportunity in a quarterfinal against a beatable opponent. Whether any of them takes it is the thing worth staying up for….