Jesper de Jong Falls in Five-Set Thriller at US Open First Round

In a gripping opening-round encounter at the US Open on Monday, August 25, qualifier Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands was edged out by American Brandon Nakashima in a marathon five-set battle, bowing out with a 6-2, 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(7) defeat.

The match, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, saw de Jong recover from a two-set deficit to level the contest, forcing a deciding set that culminated in an epic tie-break. Despite his valiant comeback-capturing the second and third sets-de Jong was unable to sustain the momentum in the fourth, and ultimately fell short in the final set’s tense tie-break.

After the match, de Jong took to Instagram to reflect on the outcome: “Toughhhhhhhhh. Today it didn’t go my way and I had to congratulate my opponent,” capturing the disappointment of the narrow loss in his first Grand Slam main draw appearance.

With this result, de Jong’s US Open campaign concludes, while Nakashima advances to the second round to face the winner of the match between qualifier Zachary Svajda and Zsombor Piros.