Best of Show: The top match we've seen thus far at the 2026 US Open

If you are fortunate enough to attend a major tournament like the US Open during the first few days of competition, there are several courses of action from which you can choose to take in the event. Most people look over the schedule of play prior to getting on site and have a basic plan in place. The plan can be anything from constantly moving around the courts to choosing one court where you find a seat on the shady side and staying there the whole day, taking in match after match until well into the evening. Of course, if you are in possession of the more expensive seats in one of the show courts, you'll probably want to spend a good part of your day at that venue. The fact is, with all the matches scheduled the first few days of the tournament, there is a lot of great tennis being played everywhere you look, which you can easily be watching for upwards of eight hours.

There is also the quandary of trying to watch the bigger names of the sport versus a match between two lesser-known competitors. There is no question that observing the consistency and strength of the top players is a sight to behold. However, while an occasional upset occurs in first- or second-round matches, more commonly those contests do not present too much in the way of drama. As such, taking in a contest between two relative unknowns can often prove more rewarding, as there is a good deal more intensity in a close match.

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With that in mind, on Monday last week we found ourselves rushing over to Court 11 for a first-round match between American Sebastian Gorzny and 38th-ranked Raphael Collignon that was heading into a fifth set. We were rewarded with the best experience we have had to date at this year's Open, one that will be difficult to top.

We were familiar with Gorzny's name chiefly from his being awarded a wild-card entry to the Open, having won the USTA American Collegiate Player Wildcard Playoff in June 2026 to earn that main-draw spot. Admittedly, it might have been more dramatic for us had we been at Court 11 for the first four sets, as the longer a match goes, the more the tension builds. But we got up to speed pretty quickly, with a palpable tension building during a back-and-forth fifth set, with Gorzny constantly having to come back from behind. And like all good dramas, this one required a 10-point match tiebreak to reach a conclusion, and even that went beyond 10 points.

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The US Open awards eight men's singles wild cards to its main draw. No matter who those spots are doled out to, there is always some second-guessing that occurs. Does this player deserve it over that player? Is a player who has been selected really up to the level needed to be competitive? Questions along those lines. Winning the USTA American Collegiate Player Wildcard Playoff is indeed a nice feather in your cap, but it isn't the pros, and we were skeptical as to Gorzny's performance at one of the biggest pro tournaments of them all. That skepticism was totally wiped out in the aftermath of his 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(9) victory over Collignon in the first round.

And it wasn't just the fact that he won that impressed, though saving five match points before winning the match on his first match point does show a lot of poise. But that was something that came out well before the tiebreaker in his approach to playing the match. This is not a situation that frightened him in the least; his entire body language gave notice that he belonged here. Of particular note to us are his eyes.

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You've probably heard the expression "his eyes lit up." It is most often used when a baseball player sees a pitch that he's sure he can clobber, and you can actually see the player's eyes menacingly zone in on the ball. It happens with tennis players as well. Now, it should be noted, this trait does not mean that the player is going to hit a great shot. Indeed, the majority of cases where a baseball player has that look result in whiffing on the pitch rather than hitting one over the wall. But what the lit eyes do indicate is that an athlete is not afraid to go on the attack. And that is a very strong asset for a professional tennis player in this day and age, as we are over a generation removed from the time when one could be somewhat successful standing on a baseline and putting enough balls back in play. These days, everyone can hit winners from almost anywhere on the court, so the instinct to attack is paramount.

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Even had he dropped the match, we still would have Gorzny presently in our top 50. Is he a can't-miss prospect for the top 20 or even top five? If life and history have taught us anything, there's no such thing as can't-miss. As impressive as this first-round victory was, it would have been a lot more impressive if he came out with Sinner-like strokes and took the match in straight sets. To add to that line of thought, Gorzny lost his second-round match in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5, to Daniil Medvedev. There is no shame in that, as moving up the ranks is a definite process. Case in point: In his first appearance in a Grand Slam main draw, Jannik Sinner lost his first-round match at the 2019 US Open.

To be sure, there were several thrilling matches during the first week of this year's US Open. This one stands out for us because of the quality of play as well as there being an element of surprise to it. We were left believing that Sebastian Gorzny is truly in his element on the tennis court, and we are definitely interested in seeing how his career progresses.

Written by Florida Tennis contributor Todd Pechter. Photo credits: pechterphotos.com

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