Felix Auger-Aliassime’s 2026 US Open run ended sooner than expected, with the Canadian bowing out in the second round after a physical problem took over in his loss to Karen Khachanov.

Given his form this season, the third seed arrived in New York with real ambitions. He had reached the quarter-finals at both the French Open and Wimbledon, and last year he advanced to the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows. That background made him one of the names many expected to contend for the title.

Instead, his meeting with Khachanov shifted away from tennis and toward how he was feeling physically. Auger-Aliassime took the opening set in a tiebreak, but after that his condition worsened and he was never able to recover. Khachanov finished the match with a 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 2-6, 2-6 result.

“I mean it’s tough to talk about anything else than how I felt physically after a set and a half I just couldn’t yeah couldn’t … [didn’t] feel well and was dizzy and seeing spots and yeah, couldn’t recover,” he explained.

“I thought maybe it would pass, but it didn’t. So that’s the end of the tournament for me and now back to the drawing board.”

He said he had not felt unwell before stepping on court. “No. I’ve never felt quite like that. I’ve had cramps before I felt, you know, tired towards the end of matches, but in a normal way.

“This was abnormal a little bit and there were no signs in the last couple of days and no signs this morning as well. So yeah, I’m not sure. I’m going to run some tests and see what comes out of it.”

Even as he trailed heavily in the fourth set, he resisted the idea of retiring. “When I lost the third set, no, because I was thinking maybe I take a break, maybe in 20 minutes I feel better, but obviously it wasn’t the case,” the world No 4 said.

“Not much you can do, you know, hydration, supplementation, but then if it doesn’t go away, I mean, the guy keeps on winning points.

“So, by the time it was three, three love, four love, I was okay, let’s finish the match. Let’s see. But I didn’t want to retire at that point.

He added: “Karen’s a great player. Look, I cannot beat I mean, him or or anybody in this draw feeling the way I felt today. So, if I cannot move, I mean, we’re not talking about tennis here.

“It’s unfortunate. I wish we were talking about tennis. I wish that I had been beaten and we were talking about what I could have done better tennis-wise, but it’s not the case.”

John McEnroe has again singled out Carlos Alcaraz as his “favourite player” and suggested the Spaniard still has plenty of Grand Slam success ahead of him.

Alcaraz, who turned 23 in May, already owns seven major titles and is competing at the 2026 US Open, where he is attempting to defend his crown. His latest milestone came earlier this season, when he won the Australian Open to become the youngest man in tennis history to complete the career Grand Slam. He has also collected two titles each at the US Open, Wimbledon and the French Open. Alcaraz first reached the summit of the ATP rankings after winning the 2022 US Open as a 19-year-old.

McEnroe has long been impressed by the Spaniard’s athletic ability. Speaking to Tennis365 last year, he praised Alcaraz’s movement and described him as a “natural freak athlete.”

“Whoever taught him taught him well,” McEnroe said. “You’re talking about, if you had to pick the top five athletes that ever played on a tennis court, I think without a doubt he’d be one of the top five.

“So, he’s just a natural freak athlete for us that can cover the court in ways that few people have ever been able to do so.”

Alcaraz arrived at Flushing Meadows having not played for more than four months because of a right wrist injury. McEnroe then spoke warmly about the young star’s place in the sport.

“I hope Carlos has a brilliant future ahead of him. He is my favourite tennis player, just as he is for many fans,” said the seven-time major champion.

“He is incredible for our sport and has a fantastic personality. We all hope he’s okay and can continue to excel for at least another ten years. That would make him 33 — six years younger than Novak is now.

“My great rival Bjorn Borg played his last match at 25. That is the last thing we want to see happen to Carlos.

“It would be terrible if he couldn’t become the player he once was. If he stays fit, he could win at least ten more majors.”

Before the tournament began, McEnroe said Alexander Zverev was his favourite to win the title.

Carlos Alcaraz remains among the leading contenders for the US Open despite having missed four and a half months with a wrist injury. The Spaniard was sidelined from April, but his return to competitive singles at Flushing Meadows has begun in controlled fashion.

So far, Alcaraz has moved through Roman Safiullin and Jaime Faria to reach the third round, and he has only dropped one set along the way. That run has done little to alter the sense that he is the player to beat in the draw. His next opponent is Wu Yibing, who earned the meeting by defeating James Duckworth in straight sets.

Daniil Medvedev was asked about Alcaraz’s prospects after advancing himself with a straight-sets win over Sebastian Gorzny. In his press conference, he backed the idea that the biggest names are always the main reference point in major tournaments.

“I think someone like Carlos or Novak as well, even if he is 39 years old. He was the same at Wimbledon and the final of the Australian Open. Yeah, he lost here but things like this can happen. Whenever people like this are in the draw, they are the favourites,” said Medvedev.

“We have no idea how Carlos is going to feel, how his body is going to feel going later into the tournament, but he is definitely the top favourite for the title.

“Usually it’s a mix of things. It is, of course, how you played in Cincinnati and how you played in summer but we just saw Arthur Fils and Brandon Nakashima losing, they had a great summer.

“Then you see the matches that you play here, I am happy with my first two matches. I am looking forward to trying to improve my form. So every tournament is a new story and I want to try and write a good one.”

Medvedev, a former US Open champion, has also seen the path open somewhat with several seeded players already out. Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal and Novak Djokovic’s early exit have changed the shape of the event, while Rafael Jodar, Fils, Andrey Rublev, Cameron Norrie, and Matteo Arnaldi have also departed in the opening rounds. That leaves Medvedev as the sixth highest-ranked player still standing, behind only Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Flavio Cobolli, and Alex de Minaur.