US Open 2026: Valentin Vacherot doesn’t flinch against Kovacevic and qualifies for the 2nd round

After several weeks of doubt, Valentin Vacherot regained confidence by sweeping American Aleksandar Kovacevic in three sets (6-2 6-3 7-5). He will face Polish player Kamil Majchrzak in the second round of the US Open.

It was without certainty about his level of play that Valentin Vacherot (27 years old, 23rd in the world) took to the court this afternoon for the first round of the US Open. Hampered by a stress fracture in his left foot that occurred in May, the Monégasque missed several weeks of competition, and was coming off four consecutive defeats since mid-July.

Facing American Aleksandar Kovacevic (28 years old, 84th in the world), Valentin Vacherot quickly showed his superiority. Imperious on serve in the first set (100% of points won behind his first serve), the Monégasque quickly broke at 2-1 and then at 5-2 to claim the first set 6-2.

In the second set, the American showed some signs of pride, but his lack of consistency was once again fatal to him. Guilty of 25 unforced errors in the first two sets, the majority on his backhand side, Aleksandar Kovacevic gave way again, 6-3.

Pushed by his home crowd, the native of New York gradually got into his match. In the third set, the American made far fewer errors early on while putting up a real baseline battle against Valentin Vacherot.

But the Monégasque understood it well, his opponent was sometimes shaky on the backhand which pushed him to insist on that area. After two more backhand errors into the net, Aleksandar Kovacevic conceded the break late in the 3^rd set. That was all Valentin Vacherot needed to close out this match. Final victory (6-2/6-3/7-5).

Having not conceded any break points in the match, Valentin Vacherot showed great solidity in this match.

An accessible second round

In the next round, the player from the Principality will face Polish player Kamil Majchrzak (30 years old, 73^rd in the world), a second round largely within his reach on paper. The two men have never faced each other.

A qualification for the third round would be a good sign for Valentin Vacherot. He, who is coming out of several difficult months, could then regain confidence heading into the end of the season where he will have many ATP points to defend after his good results in 2025. (Victory at the Shanghai Masters 1000, quarterfinal at the Paris Masters 1000, Editor’s note).