Another 2025 Grand Slam, another upset by Laura Siegemund.
The No. 52-ranked 37-year-old came through a wildly entertaining Court 5 barnburner to put out No. 20 seed Diana Shnaider — last week’s Monterrey champion — 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 in 2 hours and 32 minutes.
US Open: Draws | Scores | Order of play
Siegemund has now notched a Top 20 upset in the first week of three of this year’s four majors after defeating Zheng Qinwen at the Australian Open second round and Madison Keys in the Wimbledon third round. She’s the fourth player this decade to accomplish such a feat, following:
- Sorana Cirstea in 2021 (d. Petra Kvitova, Australian Open R2; Johanna Konta, Roland Garros R1; Victoria Azarenka, Wimbledon R2)
- Alizé Cornet in 2022 (d. Garbiñe Muguruza, Australian Open R2; Jelena Ostapenko, Roland Garros R2; Iga Swiatek, Wimbledon R3; Emma Raducanu, US Open R1)
- Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 (d. Ons Jabeur, Australian Open R2; Veronika Kudermetova, Wimbledon R2; Ekaterina Alexandrova, US Open R3)
Siegemund’s tenacity, touch and tactics have all become familiar on the major stage this year, and all of them were on show against Shnaider. The German came from a break down in both the first set, in which she trailed 4-2, and the decider, in which momentum shifted back and forth before she ran through the last three games in a row. She won 22 out of 28 points at net, conjured a series of breathtaking lobs and painted lines as she went toe-to-toe with Shnaider in several electrifying exchanges.
Shnaider played her part in the quality, too. The 21-year-old might have been forgiven for suffering a post-title let-down, given that just three days ago she had been battling through a three-set final in Mexico — over 3,000 km, eight hours’ flight and two time zones away. But Shnaider’s shot-making and scrambling were both superb for most of the contest — a leaping backhand hooked smash early in the decider might have been the shot of the match — and only faded in the home stretch.
Remarkably, the result was Siegemund’s first singles win at the US Open since 2019, and just her fourth in nine main-draw appearances. She improved to 3-0 overall against Shnaider.
There was no hint of a Monterrey hangover for beaten finalist Ekaterina Alexandrova. The No. 13 seed also faced a tricky opener after her arduous journey — 2018 semifinalist Anastasija Sevastova, whose comeback from maternity leave and an ACL injury this year has seen her notch wins over Jelena Ostapenko and Jessica Pegula. But Alexandrova was dialled-in throughout, and needed just 68 minutes to advance 6-4, 6-1. She will next face Wang Xinyu, who overcame Caroline Dolehide 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Alexandrova and Wang’s last meeting was a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(6) barnburner in last year’s Wuhan quarterfinals, won by Wang.
Elsewhere, surprise Roland Garros semifinalist Lois Boisson fell 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 to Viktorija Golubic in the Frenchwoman’s first Grand Slam main-draw appearance since her fairytale run in Paris. Boisson backed up her Roland Garros success by capturing her first Hologic WTA Tour title in Hamburg in July, but in her first two tour-level hard-court tournaments this month she has gone 0-2.
Golubic was initially overpowered by Boisson’s heavy topspin, but the stylish Swiss player began to find creative ways through it in the second set. She took control of the tiebreak with smart forays to the net, and continued her momentum in the decider with several fine passing shots — including one breathtaking angle with her single-handed backhand. Boisson took a medical timeout in which her blood pressure was taken trailing by a break at 2-1, and was undone by mounting double faults and cheap errors in the home stretch.
The result was 32-year-old Golubic’s first main-draw win in Flushing Meadows. She made her debut in 2016, but lost in the first round in each of her first seven appearances until this year. She will next face No. 18 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who avenged a loss in Indian Wells to Sonay Kartal by defeating the Briton 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.
Elsewhere, No. 8 seed and Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova eased past Kimberly Birrell 6-3, 6-2. She will next face another Australian, 19-year-old Maya Joint, who came from 5-1 down in the second set and saved two set points to defeat Andorran qualifier Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-4, 7-6(6).