Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a frustrating defeat in Washington, where his emotions boiled over during a three-set loss to Alex de Minaur. The Greek player, who had recently rediscovered form by winning his first ATP Tour title of 2026 against Raphael Collignon in the Swiss Open final earlier this month, was expected to carry that momentum forward. Instead, he fell 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a match that never found a high standard for long.

Tsitsipas arrived with a commanding 12-1 record against De Minaur, but that advantage meant little once the match turned ugly in the deciding set. He finished with 52 unforced errors and increasingly struggled to manage the pressure as the errors mounted. Midway through the third set, he lost his temper and smashed his racket, a burst of anger that brought a code violation.

Throughout the contest, Tsitsipas was also seen grumbling to his coaching team. He appeared to direct part of his frustration toward his Wilson Blade racket, while the windy conditions only added to the confusion in an error-heavy display.

For De Minaur, it was a first victory since his marriage to Katie Boulter, and he suggested the short turnaround after the wedding may have affected his own level. Still, he found a way through an awkward evening.

“Coming in, I really didn’t have too many expectations,” he stated.

“I’m glad that I was able to find a way in a tricky match. It wasn’t pretty tennis, but I did just enough to get over the line and I’m happy with that.

“Stefanos has been an incredible player for a very long time. He’s able to really hold that inside-out forehand really well and if you’re not able to find his backhand, you’re in a lot of trouble.

“In the past, I didn’t serve the best when I played him. Today I changed it up a little bit and it ended up working out for me.”

The win now sends De Minaur into a next-round meeting with Cruz Hewitt, the son of former world No 1 Lleyton. De Minaur, who has a close relationship with Hewitt through his role as Australia’s Davis Cup captain, welcomed the matchup.

“It’s gonna be a lot of fun,” added De Minaur, as he spoke as young Hewitt. “I’m really excited for him and this match-up. He’s playing amazingly and he has totally earned his place in this draw. I’m looking forward to this match-up for sure.”

Novak Djokovic is due to step into US Open doubles action with Aryna Sabalenka, with the two set to appear together as a pairing for the first time.

While Djokovic is best known for his singles work, his doubles career has occasionally surfaced in notable moments. He partnered Fernando Verdasco in Dubai in 2025 to mark the end of Verdasco’s career, and he has already teamed up with Stefanos Tsitsipas during the 2026 season.

The bigger picture, though, is his record in the format. Djokovic made his doubles debut in 2004 and, since then, has posted 67 wins against 83 defeats. That leaves him with a 46% win rate when playing with a partner, a modest return for a player of his standing.

Even so, the Serbian has produced a number of significant doubles results. He was part of Serbia’s 2010 Davis Cup title run and has also reached four other semi finals in the discipline.

His lone ATP doubles title arrived at the Queen’s Club Championships in 2010, when he teamed with Jonathan Erlich to lift the trophy. Djokovic has also been a finalist twice more. He and Radek Stepanek finished runners-up at the 2007 Adelaide International, while Djokovic and Carlos Gomez-Herrera lost in the Mallorca Open final.

At Masters level, he reached the semi finals in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo and the Canadian Open. Those runs included partnerships with Fabio Fognini, Viktor Troicki and Janko Tipsarevic. In 2021, at the Tokyo Olympics, Djokovic and Nina Stojanović placed fourth for Serbia.

His only previous US Open doubles outing came in 2006, when he and Jimmy Wang were eliminated in the opening round by Thomas Johansson and Robert Lindstedt.

Djokovic’s doubles record may sit well below his singles standard, but it still reflects a body of work built across limited appearances and several notable results.

Jannik Sinner’s choice to skip the Canadian Open has become one of the main discussion points in tennis, with opinion split over whether the world No 1 is making the right call.

The Italian had been in position to chase a remarkable sweep of every Masters event in a single calendar year, but that possibility has now ended with his decision not to play in Montreal. Instead, he will take another two weeks away from competition before turning his attention to Cincinnati, where his US Open build-up is set to begin on August 11.

Support for the move has come from Fabio Fognini, while others have questioned why Sinner is unable to add another event given that he has played only Wimbledon since his exit at Roland Garros. Kim Clijsters has also defended the withdrawal, although she believes it may point to something more significant behind the scenes.

“I think that just shows that maybe there’s something going on behind the scenes,” she said on her podcast Love All. “Maybe he’s not just not physically or mentally ready after winning Wimbledon to go back and just compete again at such an intense high level.

“Because these tournaments are not in a shorter amount of time. You play a lot of of tennis, intense matches, and and I think it’s a very, very smart choice and knowing the team around him and Darren and the way that they work, I’m sure they’ve thought about it enough for a while.”

Clijsters added that the bigger picture is the US Open, and that preserving energy now could improve his chances later. “It’s always with what’s coming up in the back of your mind and winning the US Open is obviously going to be his biggest goal,” said the Belgian.

“The next few weeks of what’s coming up in the States and if the goal is to be ready there and not get burned out mentally and or physically because you want win another masters to try and break the record.

“I think he will break plenty of records or he has been breaking plenty of records. I think it’s just very smart to think about like what’s the most important thing and not get distracted by being the number one to ever do this or that. And I just I think it’s a smart choice, but I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”

Sinner’s most recent visits to Cincinnati and the US Open both ended in final defeats to Carlos Alcaraz.