Sports30 August, 20263 min read
Toby Samuel Beats Tomas Machac To Win First US Open Grand Slam Match
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
British qualifier Toby Samuel defeated Tomas Machac in the US Open first round. Won 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
5 outlets told this the same way.
Samuel stuns Machac
Toby Samuel won his first career Grand Slam match at the US Open 2026, beating former world No. 20 Tomas Machac 6-2 6-3 6-2 in just over 90 minutes on his main-draw debut.
Sky Sports said Samuel came through three rounds of qualifying and then “stunned former top 20 player Tomas Machac 6-2 6-3 6-2 in just 90 minutes,” while the LTA noted the win took “just an hour and 32 minutes.”
The victory moved Samuel into the top 100 on the ATP rankings, and Sky Sports reported he would play 18th seed Jiri Lehecka in the next round on Wednesday.
BBC Radio 5 Live quoted Samuel saying, “Being able to win my first Grand Slam match is unbelievable,” as he set up a second-round meeting with Lehecka after a 6-2 6-3 6-2 run against Machac.
In the same opening-day slate, Cameron Norrie lost on the first round for a third consecutive major, falling 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 2-6 3-6 to France’s Luca Van Assche.
Boulter survives, Norrie exits
Katie Boulter followed Samuel’s win by beating American wild card Carol Young Suh Lee 6-4 3-6 6-0, after Sky Sports said Boulter looked to be cruising with a set and a break ahead before costly double-faults let Lee back in. Sky Sports reported Boulter was cheered on by her new husband Alex De Minaur on Court Five as she won 6-4 3-6 6-0, and it added that a tricky round-two assignment could await against this year’s Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova. Norrie’s US Open ended with a four-set defeat to Luca Van Assche, and BBC said the British number two believed he was “his own worst enemy” as he lost to Van Assche.
BBC quoted Norrie saying, “I could never really maintain a good level of energy and momentum,” and it described his third consecutive first-round exit at a Grand Slam. BBC also noted British number four Jacob Fearnley had to finish his first-round match on Monday after play on the outdoor courts was called off because of rain at about 9pm local time, with Fearnley trailing 4-3 in the first set against Spain’s Martin Landaluce.
Rankings, prize money, next
Beyond the match result, BBC said Samuel earned $140,000 (£103,000) in prize money and that his live ATP ranking put him inside the top 100, completing a rapid rise after being ranked almost 2,000th two years ago. BBC also reported Samuel’s 6-2 6-3 6-2 win came after he had “dropped just five points across his nine service games,” including three successive holds to love as part of a seven-game winning run. The BBC account tied the momentum to Samuel’s US college background, saying he was encouraged by his parents to pursue a degree at the University of South Carolina, where he won an All American doubles title.
In the next round, Sky Sports said Samuel would play 18th seed Jiri Lehecka, and the LTA added that Lehecka had beaten Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in four sets earlier that day. BBC further linked the stakes to major qualification, saying Samuel’s new ranking would secure automatic qualification for next January’s Australian Open, while the US Open is live on Sky Sports every day until September 13.