Taylor Fritz, the ninth-seeded American player, suffered a surprising five-set defeat to Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo at the US Open, losing 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. This marked Fritz's early exit from the tournament and added to the growing list of top-10 seeds who had been eliminated in the first week. Fritz had started strong, taking control early in the match and earning a break in the third set, but Cerundolo fought back to secure the win. This loss, along with that of Italy's fifth seed Flavio Cobolli, who was defeated by Belgium's Alexander Blockx in a four-set match, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 0-6, 3-6, opened up the men's draw, setting up a fourth-round clash between Cerundolo and Blockx for a spot in the quarter-finals. The US Open has seen several unexpected upsets this year, with the most shocking being the first-round exit of Novak Djokovic, the fourth seed, who lost to Argentina's Mariano Navone in a five-set match. Djokovic, who was aiming for a historic 25th Grand Slam title, was visibly emotional after the loss. Other notable early exits included Arthur Fils, the 10th seed, who fell to Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets. The highest-seeded player to be eliminated so far is Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, the third seed, who lost to Karen Khachanov in the second round, the same stage where sixth seed Alex de Minaur was also defeated. For Fritz, this loss was particularly painful, as he had previously reached the final at Flushing Meadows in 2024 and was hoping to make a deep run in his home Grand Slam. He had also aimed to be one of the five American men to reach the fourth round this year. Though the chance for an American men's singles winner still exists, Fritz expressed frustration over letting a golden opportunity slip away. Cobolli, who had previously reached the fourth round in major tournaments, admitted he was not at his best, citing fatigue and a lack of energy. He acknowledged that Blockx deserved the victory and wished him luck in the next round. The early exits of Cobolli and Fritz have significantly reshaped the men's draw. In the top half of the bracket, only top seed Alexander Zverev and two other top-20 players, 14th seed Learner Tien and 17th seed Jakub Mensik, remain. Tien and Mensik are set to face each other on Friday, which could potentially allow Zverev to reach the final without facing any top-10 players before the semifinals. Meanwhile, in men's doubles, British pair Arthur Fery and Joshua Paris advanced with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Anirudh Chandrasekar and Ivan Liutarevich. Fifth seeds Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison also progressed, defeating Arthur Reymond and Luca Sanchez. However, British duo David Stevenson and Marcus Willis faced disappointment after losing to France's 11th seeds Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in a three-set match.