NEW YORK, United States | September 2, 2026 —
US Open Today September 2 brings one of the tournament’s biggest early-round schedules as Carlos Alcaraz, defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka, Daniil Medvedev, Jessica Pegula and Ben Shelton step onto the courts in New York for second-round battles.
The action begins during the evening in India and continues deep into Thursday morning IST, giving tennis fans a packed overnight schedule from Flushing Meadows.
Alcaraz will face Portugal’s Jaime Faria, Sabalenka takes on Polina Iatcenko, Medvedev meets American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny, Pegula faces fellow American Sofia Kenin, while Shelton gets a dangerous test against Hubert Hurkacz.
The second round arrives after a dramatic opening phase that has already produced major talking points, including an early exit for Novak Djokovic and confident starts from several title contenders.
Carlos Alcaraz Returns for Second-Round Test
Carlos Alcaraz will headline the Arthur Ashe Stadium night session when he faces Jaime Faria.
The Spanish star opened his campaign with a commanding straight-sets victory over Roman Safiullin, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
That performance offered an encouraging return after Alcaraz arrived in New York looking to build momentum on the hard courts.
Faria now gets the difficult task of trying to slow one of the tournament’s biggest title contenders.
The match is scheduled for the New York evening session, which pushes the start into the early hours of September 3 in India.
Expected India time: around 5:40 AM IST on September 3, subject to the completion of earlier matches.
Aryna Sabalenka Continues US Open Title Defence
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will continue her title defence against Polina Iatcenko.
Sabalenka opened her campaign by defeating Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-4.
The Belarusian remains one of the strongest favourites in the women’s draw because of her serve, power from the baseline and proven record on hard courts.
Iatcenko enters the match with little to lose and enormous upside if she can push the defending champion into a longer battle.
Sabalenka should take the court during Wednesday evening in New York.
Expected India time: approximately 4:30 AM IST on September 3.
Daniil Medvedev Faces Sebastian Gorzny
Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev starts Wednesday’s action on Louis Armstrong Stadium against American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny.
Medvedev has endured an inconsistent season but opened the tournament with a controlled straight-sets win over Hugo Gaston.
He won that match 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
The seventh seed now needs to establish rhythm quickly.
Gorzny reached the second round after surviving a five-set battle against Raphael Collignon, winning the deciding tiebreak.
Medvedev enters as the favourite, but the American wildcard will have home support.
India time: approximately 8:30 PM IST today.
Jessica Pegula Faces Sofia Kenin in All-American Clash
The Arthur Ashe Stadium schedule opens with an all-American battle between Jessica Pegula and Sofia Kenin.
Pegula has openly stated that reaching world No. 1 remains one of her biggest career ambitions.
She started her US Open campaign with a confident victory over Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Kenin brings Grand Slam experience of her own and can make this a difficult second-round contest if she finds her best level.
The matchup gives American fans an early marquee contest on the main court.
India time: approximately 9:00 PM IST today.
Ben Shelton Gets Tough Hubert Hurkacz Test
Ben Shelton faces one of Wednesday’s most intriguing men’s matches when he takes on Hubert Hurkacz.
Shelton survived a shaky start in his opening match against Tallon Griekspoor.
After losing the first set 1-6, the American responded strongly and won the next three sets.
Hurkacz presents a different challenge.
The Polish player owns one of the biggest serves on tour and can make short points extremely difficult to control.
Shelton will again rely heavily on his own serve and aggressive forehand.
Expected India time: around 10:10 PM IST today.
US Open September 2 Key Matches and India Timings
| Match | Expected India Time |
|---|---|
| Daniil Medvedev vs Sebastian Gorzny | 8:30 PM IST |
| Jessica Pegula vs Sofia Kenin | 9:00 PM IST |
| Ben Shelton vs Hubert Hurkacz | 10:10 PM IST |
| Frances Tiafoe vs Rei Sakamoto | 4:30 AM IST, Sept 3 |
| Aryna Sabalenka vs Polina Iatcenko | 4:30 AM IST, Sept 3 |
| Carlos Alcaraz vs Jaime Faria | 5:40 AM IST, Sept 3 |
Match times can shift depending on the length of earlier matches and court scheduling.
Andrey Rublev Also Returns to Court
Andrey Rublev will continue his campaign against Daniel Merida.
Rublev survived a five-set opening-round battle and now needs a cleaner performance if he wants to conserve energy for the later stages of the tournament.
Early Grand Slam rounds can quickly become physically expensive when top players repeatedly get dragged into five-set contests.
Frances Tiafoe Carries American Hopes
Frances Tiafoe will meet Japan’s Rei Sakamoto in another match likely to attract strong home support.
Tiafoe remains one of the United States’ most popular men’s players and has previously produced some of his best Grand Slam tennis in New York.
Sakamoto, however, has already shown that he can survive pressure.
A packed New York crowd could turn this into one of the liveliest matches of the day.
Novak Djokovic Exit Has Already Shaken the Draw
The men’s tournament has already delivered a huge early shock.
Four-time US Open champion Novak Djokovic lost his opening-round match to Mariano Navone in five sets.
Navone won 7-6, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Djokovic’s exit has changed the shape of the draw and increased attention on players such as Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and other leading contenders.
It also demonstrated how dangerous the early rounds can become even for established champions.
Alexander Zverev Survives Five-Set Scare
Alexander Zverev narrowly avoided another major upset.
The top seed needed five sets to defeat Lorenzo Sonego.
Zverev eventually prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4.
That marathon win kept his title campaign alive, but it also showed that the men’s competition remains wide open.
US Open Viewership Hits Record Start
Interest in this year’s tournament has also surged on television.
ESPN recorded its largest US Open opening-day audience ever, averaging 914,000 viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.
Coverage peaked at around 1.3 million viewers.
That record audience underlines the commercial and search interest surrounding this year’s event.
High-profile names, unexpected upsets and the presence of several former champions have given the tournament a powerful opening-week storyline.
Sabalenka Remains Woman to Beat
Sabalenka continues to carry the pressure that comes with defending the title and holding the top ranking.
However, the women’s draw remains loaded with challengers.
Jessica Pegula wants to reach world No. 1.
Iga Swiatek is rebuilding confidence.
Coco Gauff has started strongly.
Naomi Osaka has also moved through her opening match.
That depth means Sabalenka cannot afford an early lapse.
Alcaraz Sees Opportunity in Men’s Draw
Djokovic’s exit removes one of the tournament’s most experienced champions.
For Alcaraz, that creates an important opportunity.
The Spaniard has already demonstrated that he can win on New York’s hard courts.
However, he still has a long path ahead.
The best way to exploit an opened-up draw is to avoid unnecessary early-round drama.
A convincing performance against Faria would keep his campaign firmly on track.
Why Today’s US Open Schedule Has High Search Value
The US Open Today September 2 schedule combines several of tennis’s biggest searchable names:
Carlos Alcaraz
Aryna Sabalenka
Daniil Medvedev
Jessica Pegula
Ben Shelton
Hubert Hurkacz
Frances Tiafoe
It also carries strong India search intent around:
US Open today match
US Open India time
Carlos Alcaraz next match
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That makes today’s second-round preview a strong Search + Discover opportunity.
What Tennis Fans Should Watch Tonight
Medvedev gets the first major spotlight in India during the evening.
Pegula follows in an all-American clash.
Shelton then faces a potentially explosive serving battle against Hurkacz.
Later, Sabalenka begins her second-round title defence.
And Alcaraz closes the marquee schedule during the New York night session.
For US Open Today September 2, the tournament is moving quickly from opening-round introductions into matches where one bad performance can end a title campaign.
New York now gets its first real taste of second-round pressure — and several of the biggest names in tennis will face it before the night is over.
