US Open 2023: Holger Rune stunned, Dominic Thiem tames Alexander Bublik for first Grand Slam win in over two years

Holger Rune suffered a shock first-round exit at the US Open, losing 3-6 6-4 3-6 2-6 to Roberto Carballes Baena.

The fourth seed was expected to feature in the latter stages of the final Grand Slam of the year but was stunned by his Spanish opponent.

Carballes Baena, ranked 63rd in the world, took advantage of Rune’s error-strewn display to capture one of the biggest wins of his career.

Rune recovered to level the match after losing the first set, but continued to struggle on his serve and eventually succumbed to the pressure.

In total he was broken seven times and hit 43 errors as he was beaten in four sets.

Thiem, the 2020 champion, started tentatively before breaking Bublik to move 4-2 clear in the first. He was broken straight back but recovered immediately to re-establish his advantage before serving out comfortably for a one-set lead.

The second followed a similar pattern as Thiem further asserted his dominance with an early break to move 2-1 ahead.

Bublik was powerless to halt the momentum and was broken again as Thiem raced two sets clear.

Thiem then secured another break at the start of the third before overcoming a late wobble to see out his first Grand Slam victory in over two years.

“It’s amazing. Today is pretty special because I hadn’t won a match since Australia [the Australian Open] in 2021, so that’s a very long time,” Thiem said in his on-court interview.

“I couldn’t have wished for a better place like here with all the memories and past experiences – some good ones, some rough ones, especially on this court. I’m super, super happy.”

The pair split 53 winners, but the match was ultimately decided by the mistakes that flowed from Bublik’s racquet.

Bublik served 17 double faults and notched up 44 unforced errors in an erratic display that consigned him to a third consecutive first-round Grand Slam exit.

Thiem will play America’s Ben Shelton next, who beat Pedro Cachin in four sets.

The highly rated 20-year-old got to the quarter-finals on his Grand Slam debut in Australia and showed all his battling qualities on his first appearance in the main draw at Flushing Meadows.

After losing the first set to the Argentine, he recovered to win 1-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 in just over two hours.

Elsewhere Richard Gasquet was beaten in five sets by Fabian Marozsan.

Gasquet, 37, fought back to force a decider but went down 6-3 6-1 6-7(5) 6-7(1) 6-2.