Brandon Nakashima won his first Grand Slam match on Monday at the US Open, defeating 38-year-old Paolo Lorenzi. The #NextGenATP American is only 19, but he is certainly dreaming big.

“I’ve always wanted to be No. 1 in the world and win a Grand Slam,” Nakashima said. “It’s just a matter of developing my game during this time and just trying to get more experiences like this under my belt and we’ll see how it goes from here.”

The No. 223 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings has been up close and personal with greatness. One of Nakashima’s coaches is 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash. His other coach is Serbian Dusan Vemic, a longtime friend of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Nakashima warmed up Djokovic last week throughout his run to the Western & Southern Open title.

“He’s a good guy. He’s definitely funny at times, especially on the court when he’s not hitting. He’s always laughing, having a good time,” Nakashima said. “But when it comes to practising and hitting on the court, he’s definitely locked in, all down to business, so it’s great to see that.”

The teen says that after hitting with Djokovic for a couple of days he got comfortable enough to start asking questions. But his biggest takeaway from the sessions was simply rallying with the Serbian.

“I think it was just a matter of seeing how he hits the ball so effortlessly, how he gets such easy power,” Nakashima said. “[He’s] really smooth with all his strokes.”

The American’s Grand Slam debut came just one year after he competed in the boys’ singles event at Flushing Meadows, making the semi-finals.

“It definitely was a great feeling to get that win out there, even though it was on one of the outside courts with no fans there watching,” Nakashima said. “Nevertheless, it definitely was special. Getting that first win here was just great for my game.”

Cash On Nakashima: ‘I’m Very Impressed’

The straight-sets victory came against an opponent who entered the FedEx ATP Rankings more than two years before Nakashima was born. The Italian reached the fourth round of the 2017 US Open.

“I think he was serving really good. The return is pretty impressive. The backhand, too,” Lorenzi said. “I think he has a strong game and I think he can play really good in the future.”

Just more than six months ago, Nakashima made his ATP Tour debut at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com. He wasted no time acclimating to the level, advancing to the quarter-finals with two Top 100 wins. Now he’ll face an even bigger test in the second round of the US Open, as the #NextGenATP star will play 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev.

“I always thought that I had the right game to compete with all these top guys. It was just a matter of having the opportunities like in Delray Beach at the beginning of this year and eventually getting the wild card here,” Nakashima said. “I knew it was going to be tough no matter who I played here, but I always knew I had a good game to compete with these guys.”

Playing the villain at last year’s US Open, Daniil Medvedev channeled the ire of New York fans to fuel his remarkable run to within one set of the title. This year, he’ll have to do it all by himself.

Early indications are that the Russian is adapting well to the closed door US Open. On Tuesday night, he required just one hour and 46 minutes to dismiss Federico Delbonis 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

“I’m most pleased today with the score, three sets. I’m happy that I finished before midnight,” Medvedev said on court to ESPN’s Brad Gilbert after the match. “I was playing consistent and wasn’t going for crazy shots… I managed to keep my distance and always kept pressure on his serve. That was the key.”

PSA: Daniil Medvedev has added no-look shots to his arsenal.@DaniilMedwed I #USOpen pic.twitter.com/tjKXJPsqvD

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2020

Medvedev was hardly a crowd favourite midway through last year’s event. But by the end of his run and heroic comeback against Rafael Nadal to force a fifth set in their championship match, the Russian had come full circle and had fans cheering for him. The packed stadium gave him a long standing ovation as he accepted his runner-up trophy.

But if there were a crowd for Medvedev’s match against Delbonis, they wouldn’t have had a chance to get involved. The third seed quickly grabbed the first five games against Delbonis, pushing him around the baseline and frequently making timely trips to the net for winning volleys. Although the Argentine got more involved as the match wore on, Medvedev never relinquished control.

The Russian didn’t drop serve and converted five of nine break point chances, comfortably closing out proceedings on his first try and improving his record at this event to 9-3. Medvedev will next face Christopher O’Connell, who recorded his first Grand Slam match win with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-4 victory against Laslo Djere.

“I know that he can play really good tennis. When Andrey Rublev was at the top of his [game] in Australia, he took a set off him,” Medvedev said, referring to O’Connell’s four-set defeat to Rublev at this year’s Australian Open. “I’m going to see some matches of his and prepare.”

US Open 2020 Day 2″ />

Grigor Dimitrov avenged his five-set defeat to Tommy Paul at this year’s Australian Open by scoring a convincing 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 win over the American inside Louis Armstrong Stadium. The No. 14 seed saved all seven break points and broke Paul five times. 

Dimitrov, a semi-finalist at last year’s US Open, remains on track for a fourth-round clash against Medvedev. He’ll first need to get through Marton Fucsovics, who cruised past Hugo Dellien 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. The Hungarian beat Dimitrov in three sets last week at the Western & Southern Open.

American J.J. Wolf scored one of the biggest upsets on Day 2 by ousting No. 29 seed Guido Pella 6-2, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 for his first tour-level win. The 21-year-old, No. 138 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, opened this year with a pair of ATP Challenger Tour titles and qualified for his first ATP Masters 1000 event last week in New York. Awaiting him in the next round is Roberto Carballes Baena, who prevailed in an all-Spanish battle with Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-3.

John Millman continued his success in New York with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win against No. 22 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili. The 31-year-old Aussie stunned Roger Federer in 2018 to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final. He’ll face Frances Tiafoe in the next round after the American defeated Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. Millman leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-0, with both wins coming on hard courts.

Is Matteo Berrettini ready to capture his first major championship at this year’s US Open? The sixth seed returned to the scene of his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at last year’s event and powered past Go Soeda 7-6(5), 6-1, 6-4.

”I was able to win the most important points in the tie-break. I got a lot of confidence after winning the first set and felt I could change gears,” Berrettini said on court after the match. “I got a little bit tight in the third set. I haven’t played a lot of matches this year. It wasn’t easy at the end, but mentally I was there and I’m happy with my performance.”

Soeda held a 5/3 lead in the first-set tie-break, but gifted the first set to Berrettini after nerves sparked a double fault and pair of routine baseline errors. The Italian capitalised on the opportunity and raised his level significantly.

Berrettini hit 18 unforced errors in the opening set, but cut down to 12 unforced errors across the next two sets while hitting a staggering 48 winners on the night. He was particularly potent on serve, firing 18 aces and dropping only three first-serve points (47/50) en route to prevailing just one minute over the two-hour mark.

Awaiting Berrettini in the second round is Ugo Humbert, who quickly moved past Yuichi Sugita 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. The 22-year-old Frenchman captured his first ATP Tour title this January in Auckland (d. Paire) and seeks his first win against a player inside the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.

US Open Day 2″ />

Milos Raonic carried over the impressive form from his runner-up finish last week at the Western & Southern Open. The No. 25 seed remained in firm control throughout a dominant 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win against Leonardo Mayer.

”I had a great week last week. A lot of good things, especially after such a long layoff, but I knew it was going to be very important for me to separate the two,” Raonic said on court after his win. ”I’m happy with how quickly everything has come along. I know that I can play well, especially having the ability to train [while] healthy and prepare the right way. I’m glad the pieces are coming together.”

Raonic didn’t face a break point and only lost four first-serve points (34/38) against Mayer, firing 42 winners to advance in one hour and 48 minutes. He improved to 13-5 this season and will now have an all-Canadian second-round clash with Vasek Pospisil, who defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(4), 7-5, 7-6(3). Raonic leads their ATP HeadHead series 2-1, but Pospisil won their most recent clash at 2018 Antwerp.

Casper Ruud scored the first victory from two sets down of his career, battling back to defeat Mackenzie McDonald 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Next up for the Norwegian, seeded No. 30, is an all-Scandinavian battle with #NextGenATP Finn Emil Ruusuvuori. The 19-year-old clinched his maiden Grand Slam match win by outlasting Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.