He lost the opening set in 30 minutes and then won 19 of the next 26 games. Lehecka, the No. 18 seed, made 41 unforced errors to 30 and hit 22 winners to Tsitsipas’ 34. Tsitsipas served 12 aces, won 72% of the points behind his first serve and took 73 points on serve to Lehecka’s 60.
The Greek star had already beaten Arthur Fils, the No. 10 seed and the Cincinnati champion, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-4 in the first round, from a set and 5-2 down, and needed four sets to get past South African qualifier Lloyd Harris, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
A crowd tsitSipas had not expected
The reception on Friday night was not one he is used to in New York, and he said so twice.
“They’re starting to embrace me. It feels good,” Tsitsipas said on court. “I’ve never had this support in New York ever before. You’re phenomenal. You’re absolutely phenomenal.”
He then offered, apparently seriously, to credential every one of them. “As a token of appreciation, I’d like to give every single fan out here that was cheering for me a credential. I don’t know if that’s possible.”
Not the best of starts, but you carried me through this match. My team carried me through this match.
Of the match, he said only: “Not the best of starts, but you carried me through this match. My team carried me through this match.”
That team is newly assembled. Tsitsipas has been working with Patrick Mouratoglou again since June, with Thomas Perrin as his daily coach, an arrangement that ended a working relationship with his father. “I’ve known Patrick forever. He’s the first person that actually believed in me throughout my junior journey,” Tsitsipas said. “He gave me a call when I was 15 years old, invited me over to the academy, and the rest is history. Now he gets to be part of my team. It’s a beautiful atmosphere that we’re building. I’m really proud and happy about it.”
Tsitsipas finished by addressing the Greek community of Astoria, in the same borough as the tournament, in Greek.
US Open 2026, men’s singles, third round
A. Zverev [1] vs A. Tabilo [25] – not played
L. Darderi [21] vs D. Sweeny (W) – not played
M. Zheng (W) vs A. Gea (L) – not played
Z. Bergs [31] vs B. Van de Zandschulp – not played
K. Khachanov vs B. Bonzi – not played
J. Mensik [17] vs L. Tien [14] – not played
T. Fritz [9] vs F. Cerundolo [24] – not played
A. Blockx [28] vs F. Cobolli [5] – not played
D. Medvedev [7] d. A. Rinderknech [26]: 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
V. Vacherot [22] vs F. Tiafoe [11] – not played
A. Michelsen vs D. Merida – not played
T. Etcheverry [27] vs M. Navone – not played
B. Shelton [8] vs D. Shapovalov – not played
S. Tsitsipas d. J. Lehecka [18]: 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-1
T. Paul [20] d. A. Bublik [15]: 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3
C. Alcaraz [2] d. Y. Wu: 6-3, 6-4, 6-1