US Open 2026: Toby Samuel wins first career Grand Slam match as Cameron Norrie loses on opening day
Qualifier Toby Samuel got the British singles contingent off to a winning start at the US Open but Cameron Norrie lost in the first round; watch the second day of the US Open from 3.30pm on Monday, live on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+
Sunday 30 August 2026 23:08, UK
Britain's Toby Samuel won his maiden Grand Slam match after an impressive straight-sets victory while Cameron Norrie lost on the opening day of the US Open.
Samuel, who came through three rounds of qualifying, stunned former top 20 player Tomas Machac 6-2 6-3 6-2 in just 90 minutes with a superb display of serving and groundstroke hitting.
The win means Samuel will move into the top 100 on the ATP rankings and he will play 18th seed Jiri Lehecka, another Czech player, in the next round on Wednesday
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"I'm so tired - but otherwise I'm so happy to have got the job done there," said Samuel, who was ranked 683 in the world this time last year.
"I played a great match - I'm just so thankful to everyone that has supported me to this moment, and hopefully I can carry on into next week.
"The first two sets I wasn't missing any balls. In the third, he came out a bit stronger - I had a little dip in the first few games, but I came out of it quickly. I'm just going to try and do exactly what I did today in the next match."
Samuel was a clear step above Machac for most of the match with early breaks in the first and second set enough to take a quick two sets lead.
The 23-year-old barely made any unforced errors and was not threatened on serve until the start of the third set, when he was broken, but he won six consecutive games to break his winless Grand Slam duck.
Norrie beaten in first round for third consecutive major
Norrie was unable to join Samuel in the second round after a third successive first-round exit at Grand Slams this year as he lost 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 2-6 3-6 to France's Luca Van Assche.
A topsy-turvy opening set went Norris' way but his performance suddenly dipped early in the second set and he was never able to recover as Van Assche gained confidence in the long baseline rallies.
Norrie, who has been overtaken as British No 1 by Arthur Fery after his run to the Winston-Salem final on Saturday, became increasingly frustrated but showed some fight after being broken early in the fourth set.
He got back to 3-3 with some superb hitting but Van Assche resisted the late rally to break again and book a spot in the second round of the US Open for the first time in his career.
The US Open is live on Sky Sports every day until September 13. Stream tennis with no contract on NOW and the Sky Sports App. You can also watch the Laver Cup at The O2 in London from 25-27 September live on Sky Sports.
