Top Seed Miguel Saves Match Point to Escape Qualifier Malacek's Challenge; Wild Card Annika Penickova Takes Out No. 4 Seed Barros; Reddy Upsets Reisach; Ohio State Team Makes History by Advancing to Third Round
©Colette Lewis and Michael Lewis 2026--
Flushing Meadows NY--
Top seed Guto Miguel may not have expected to need over two hours and the support of the always raucous Brazil fans in his first round match today at the US Open Junior Championships, but the 17-year-old Brazilian came to the realization early that qualifier Daniel Malacek wasn't intimidated by facing the Roland Garros champion in his junior slam debut. Malacek, the Kalamazoo 16s finalist last month, was a big serve and forehand plus-one winner away from a colossal upset on Court 7, with Miguel serving at 5-6 in the third set, ultimately dropping a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) decision.
After a rocky and error-filled first set, Miguel found his form after trailing 2-0 in the second set, but he couldn't shake Malacek, who was in every rally with the Brazilian until the tiebreaker.
Deep in the third set both players were subjected to dueling chants of “USA! USA!” and “Ole, Ole, Ole Ole, Guto!” from the crowd.
“It was a survival match, to be sure,” Miguel said. “The crowd really helped pull me through, the Brazilian fan support was amazing.”
Miguel said he expected a tough match from Malacek, who needed a wild card to get into the qualifying, because “it’s a Grand Slam, everybody’s good and everybody can beat you.”
No. 2 seed Jamie Mackenzie, a freshman at TCU had his hands full with wild card Matias Reyniak, the 2025 Orange Bowl 16s champion, who, despite several medical timeouts, forced a third set with a courageous tiebreaker before falling 7-6(2), 6-7(7), 6-3.
The American boys who won the Junior Davis Cup last fall are all seeded at this year's US Open Junior Championships, all three won their first round men's qualifying matches, and all three won their first round matches today.
No. 3 seed Michael Antonius had decidedly fewer fans watching his first round match Sunday than watched him during his second round qualifying match on August 26.
But Antonius, who pushed U.S. Open finalist Nishikori that day in a 6-4, 6-4 loss, didn’t mind the relative anonymity Sunday, as he easily dispatched Brazil’s Leonardo Storck Franca, 6-4, 6-1.
“It was definitely less nervous for me in terms of just like the people watching and the atmosphere,” Antonius said. " The courts are fast, so I was already prepared for the speed of how the ball would bounce. And in the second set I started to play better.”
Antonius knows that because of his success this year, other players are hunting him.
“My mindset is always to have a chip on my shoulder,” said the usually-smiling off-the-court Antonius. “Just work in the dark, and bring it when you’re out there (on the court.)”
Antonius’ former doubles partner, who he teamed with to reach Wimbledon boys finals in July, Andy Johnson, also had a successful start to his Open.
A boys quarterfinalist here last year, Johnson dispatched India’s Arnav Paparkar, 6-4, 6-1.
“Probably the biggest win of my life, yeah,” Johnson said Sunday. “I just started calming down more, and my cramps in my calf started feeling better and the crowd got into it, and in those moments I’m not really thinking about anything. I had nothing to lose and just went for it.”
Johnson will next play Israel’s Dan Brand, who got his first U.S. Open win by beating Australian Daniel Jovanoski, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.
“I tried to be only positive in my mind, telling myself I can do it, trying to do my best,” Brand said. “He was serving well on the fast courts, so on the return I went a little (further) back, and when I opened the points I won most of the points. I tried to be aggressive. I’m very excited.”
Wimbledon champ Jordan Lee also had no trouble in his opening round Sunday, defeating Raffaele Ciurnelli of Italy, 6-2, 6-2.
Lee said that despite the sudden fame of winning at the All England Club, not much has changed for him.
“It was fun signing some autographs the other day, but I understand that’s what comes with being a little more known,” Lee said. “I’m always going to be the same and stay the same.”
Although there were the close calls for top two boys seeds, only three were eliminated today, No. 16 seed Nicolas Baena of Peru, who lost to Dante Pagani of Argentina 6-4, 6-3, No. 15 seed Kuan-Shou Chen of Taiwan, who fell to Peter Ogunsakin of Nigeria 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 and College Park J300 finalist and No. 11 seed Vincent Reisach of Germany, who was beaten by Vihaan Reddy 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
Reddy said he hasn't been playing well lately, but was able to return Reisach's big first serve, which helped him get to neutral quickly, before turning to offense.
"It was definitely part of the strategy," the 16-year-old said when asked about his regular forays to the net today, which were occasionally reminiscent of Pat Rafter. "But I think that's kind of where my game has been heading. Hopefully not completely like Pat Rafter but my coach would definitely be happy with that comparison."
The big upset of the day in the girls draw was courtesy of wild card Annika Penickova, who won a W35 and made the final of another prior to reaching the quarterfinals of the USTA 18s National Championships in San Diego last month. Penickova was too powerful for No. 4 seed Victoria Barros of Brazil in her 6-3, 6-4 victory.
The 16-year-old twin sister of Kristina Penickova seems to be healthy now and played a terrific match Sunday on Court 5, beating No. 4 seed Brazilian Victoria Luiza Barros, 6-3, 6-4. It was her third win in three meetings against Barros.
Penickova attacked the net frequently, winning eight of nine net points, including knocking off a pretty backhand volley winner as she held for 5-4 in the second set.
The Floridian, coached by USTA’s Jermaine Jenkins, then played a terrific final game, drilling a forehand down-the-line winner to set up two match points, then winning when Barros double faulted.
“I think I brought a little bit of the confidence from the pros and everything that I've been playing into that match and I think that helped me a lot,” said Penickova, who lost in the first round of women’s qualifying here.”
Penickova said coming to net more is something her coaches have emphasized.
“I think especially for me, having a complete game style, being comfortable coming to the net, is super important, especially transitioning to the pros.”
Barros was the only girls seed to lose today.
The last eight first round singles matches and eight second round singles matches in each draw are on Monday's schedule, along with the bottom half of draw playing their first round of doubles.
Defending champions Keaton Hance and Jack Kennedy are the No. 2 seeds, with Miguel and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia the No. 1 seeds.
Mariia Makarova of Russia and Xinran Sun of China are the top seeds in the girls doubles, with Barros and Nauhany Leme Da Silva of Brazil the No. 2 seeds. Jana Kovackova and Katerina Zajickova of Czechia, who have won the last two girls doubles title at junior slams, are the No. 5 seeds.
There are no seeded teams from the United States in the girls doubles draw, although the Penickova twins are dangerous floaters who could play the Brazilians in the second round.
Sunday's US Open Juniors matches featuring Americans
Thilo Behrmann[7](AUT) d. Ryan Cozad 7-6(5), 6-1
Connor Doig(RSA) d. Teodor Davidov[WC] 7-6(4), 6-3
Guto Miguel[1](BRA) d. Daniel Malacek[[Q] 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4)
Lanta Watanabe(JPN) d. Jerrid Gaines Jr.[WC] 6-3, 6-3
Kai Thompson{HKG) d. Navneet Raghuram[WC] 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-4
Matei Victor Cheleman[Q](ROU) d. Kayden Colombo[WC] 6-4, 6-3
Andy Johnson[12] d. Arnav Paparkar(IND) 6-4, 6-1
Jack Kennedy[5] d. Ryo Tabata(JPN) 6-3, 6-3
Michael Antonius[3] d. Leonardo Storck Franca(BRA) 6-4, 6-1
Jordan Lee[8] d. Raffaele Ciurnelli(ITA) 6-2, 6-2
Tanishk Konduri d. Jakub Kusy(CZE) 6-4, 6-3
Vihaan Reddy d. Vincent Reisach[11](GER) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
Jamie Mackenzie[2](GER) d. Matias Reyniak[WC] 7-6(2), 6-7(7), 6-3
Daniel Jade(FRA) d. Mason Vaughan[WC] 2-6, 6-3, 2-0 ret.
Jack Secord d. Damir Zhalgasbay(KAZ) 6-3, 6-4
Thara Gowda[WC] d. Emily Eigelsbach(GER) 6-2, 6-4
Kristina Penickova[WC][14] d. Renee Alame(AUS) 6-1, 6-1
Annika Penickova[WC] d. Victoria Barros[4](BRA) 6-3, 6-4
Hannah Ayrault[WC] d. Ui Su Jeong(KOR) 6-3, 6-3
Jordyn Hazelitt[16] d. Lujza Beviz(HUN) 7-6(4), 7-5
Mariia Makarova[7](RUS) d. Allison Wang[WC] 6-1, 7-5
Maya Rajeshwaran Revathi[15](IND) d. Emery Combs[WC] 6-2, 6-2
Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi[12](ARG) d. Natalie Kha[Q] 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
Yael Saffar[Q] d. Maia Burcescu(ROU) 6-1, 6-2
Ksenia Efremova[3](FRA) d. Scarlett Fagan[Q] 6-4, 6-1
Clemence Mercier[Q](CAN) d. Anita Tu 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
Melije Clarke d. Polina Berezina(RUS) 6-4, 6-0
Lani Chang(withdrew) v Jana Kovackova[2](CZE)
Anna Pushkareva[5](RUS) d. Shristi Selvan[WC] 6-2, 6-4
Monday's first round junior matches featuring Americans:
Keaton Hance[4] v Pedro Chabalgoity(BRA)
Gavin Goode v Tito Chavez(ESP)
Marcel Latak v Ziga Sesko[6]
Safir Azam v Dimitar Kisimov[10](BUL)
Kamil Stolarczyk[WC] v Kirill Filaretov(RUS)
Janae Preston[6] v Fleur De Bresser(NED)
Thea Frodin v Katerina Zajickova(CZE)
Olivia Traynor v Nauhany Leme Da Silva[8]
Isha Manchala[WC] v Alexandra Malova(RUS)
Monday's second round junior matches featuring Americans:
Jordan Lee[8] v Valentin Gonzalez-Galino(ESP)
Michael Antonius[3] v Simone Massellani(ITA)
Andy Johnson[12] v Dan Brand(ISR)
Vihaan Reddy v Daniel Jade(FRA)
Tanishk Konduri v Mathys Domenc[14](FRA)
Jordyn Hazelitt[16] v Ekaterina Dotsenko(RUS)
Thara Gowda[WC] v Xinran Sun[1](CHN)
Yael Safar[Q] v Paola Pinera Celorio[10(ESP)
Kristina Penickova[WC][14] v Antonina Sushkova(UKR)
Annika Penickova[WC] Yu Jun Lin(CHN)
USTA Collegiate Playoff champions Nikita Filin and Brandon Carpico of Ohio State won their second round men's doubles match today, with a bit of deja vu, beating John Peers(Middle Tennessee, Baylor) of Australia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4. Filin and Carpico had won their first round match Friday over No. 8 seeds Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos of Brazil 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5, so the confidence they have in their own ability to find their way through a match has grown with each set won.
"I think we both don't see it ending here," said Carpico. "I think we both know we're capable of making a really deep run in this tournament, and while we've played well in these two matches, we've got another gear we can still get to. I think the confidence is really high. It's two hard fought wins, but both of us know we can still play a little better, clean things up, so if we do that, what's to say we couldn't keep going."
"It's exciting, we're beating these great teams, but like Brandon said, we know we have a better gear," Filin said. "And once it clicks, we could take off. We're enjoying the moment, but we have to put a little pressure on ourselves, knowing we're good enough, better than these guys, and we're just here to prove it."
Filin and Carpico, who are the only NCAA wild card team to win two rounds since the ATP began tracking wild cards in the 1990s, will play three-time US Open men's doubles champions Rajeev Ram(Illinois) and Joe Salisbury(Memphis) in the third round.
After several disappointing results yesterday, Americans rebounded with five wins at the US Open Sunday, with three US men and two US women advancing to the quarterfinals today.
Sunday's fourth round results of Americans:
Carlos Alcaraz[2](ESP) d. Tommy Paul[20] 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
Frances Tiafoe[11] d. Daniil Medvedev[7] 7-6(1), 6-4, 7-6(6)
Alex Michelsen d. Tomas Martin Etcheverry[27](ARG) 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-4
Ben Shelton[8] d. Stefanos Tsitsipas(GRE) 6-2, 6-3, 6-4
Aryna Sabelenka[1](BLR) d. Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3
Emma Navarro[26] d. Anna Kalinskaya[21](RUS) 6-4, 6-2
Jessica Pegula[3] d. Sorana Cirstea[16](ROU) 6-3, 6-4
Mondays fourth round matches featuring Americans:
Iva Jovic[14] v Coco Gauff[4]
Learner Tien[14] v Karen Khachanov(RUS)
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