The second-round US Open match between Tommy Paul and Alexander Bublik was bound to be one of epic ebbs and flows. After all, the two players offered contrasting styles, and there was no guarantee which one would be better than the other. Bublik was the bigger hitter and Paul the better mover.
And yet, both players could do a bit of both. It was whichever one was less exposed in their weakness that would ultimately likely win the match. Through the first two sets, no determination could be made.
Paul took the opener, with the New York crowd firmly behind the American. He wasn't hitting with bombast, but that is never consistently his game. Instead, he was stealing points with his speed and making fewer unforced errors. His set one 6-4 victory felt very tenuous, however.
Tommy Paul shocks Alexander Bublik in the third round of the 2026 US Open
In the second set, Bublik was controlling more points, and a knockout punch of Paul, at least as far as the set, felt certain. He got a break midway through and held serve to even the match, taking set two 6-4. Two sets in, the US Open audience still had no idea who was going to win the match, and five sets felt like a real possibility.
In the third set, each player hit more winners than unforced errors, and that made taking the advantage more difficult for both. Neither player made too much of an inroads on the other's serve, and even if they did, fans could assume that the server would be able to work their way out of trouble.
Eventually, the set headed to a tie-break, and Paul missed just enough forehands to not take advantage of the opportunities he had. Bublik won the tie-break 7-4, and while the match remained close, the Kazakhstani appeared to have all the momentum.
What made the last two sets so stunning was that Paul was so commanding of what unfolded. Instead of tight sets, he played at a level that not only dispatched Alexander Bublik with ease but also, maybe, any other player in the tournament.
Whatever Paul hit mostly resulted in a point, sometimes even breaking the formidable Bublik with ease. The American's athleticism was astonishing, and while Bublik wasn't playing poorly, the elevation of what Paul did was nearly unbelievable. Paul took set four 6-1, and he led set five 5-0 in seemingly a matter of moments.
He would eventually take the set 6-3, and in the kind of form that didn't just win the match, but might win the final major of the year for an American. He only needs to bottle up how he performed and carry that into the following rounds, and not dip in form at the end of a match.
Tommy Paul will next face a brutal task in the round of 16. Their most likely opponent is Carlos Alcaraz, who has shaken off any rust he had through two rounds (and most of his third-round match, which he was leading easily as of this writing) in his attempt to repeat as the US Open champion.
Add us as a preferred source on Google