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Sports · US Open 2026 · Men's Singles · Round of 128
Jesper de Jong vs Francesco Passaro — 2-6 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-2
 Jesper de Jong✓ | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
 Francesco Passaro | 6 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
Final · Wednesday, September 2, 2026 · Round of 128
Result
Two rain breaks and nearly 24 hours separated the start of this match from its end. Francesco Passaro, a qualifier who had come through without losing a set, broke in the fifth game on Court 10 and reeled off five straight for 6-2. Jesper de Jong took the second 6-2, saving a break point at 5-1 with a sliced second-serve ace down the T. Rain interrupted the third with Passaro 2-0 up; the Italian broke straight back after de Jong had levelled at 3-3 and served it out 6-4. Two games into the fourth the rain returned for good, and when they came back the next afternoon it was a different match. De Jong broke at once, went 4-1, turned away four break points in the seventh game and closed it 6-3, then broke in the first and fifth games of the decider — the second on a Passaro double fault — and won every point behind his first serve in that set, 14 for 14. Passaro missed a forehand on the first match point after 3hr 51min. De Jong got there despite 15 double faults of his own.
Jesper de JongRows the source hadn’t published are left off rather than guessed.
At this Stage
The Round of 128 is the widest the net ever gets: 64 matches a draw, spread across three days, every seed in action and every qualifier playing the biggest match of the year. This half of the bracket filled in late — qualifying ran a day long after rain pushed the last round to Friday, so these names were still blank slots on draw night. First-round losers leave with $140,000. The winner draws Bergs or Taberner in the Round of 64.
What we know now
What I said beforehand
The preview, frozen before the first serve. Clearly dated, never rewritten — that's the deal that makes the pick worth anything.
De Jong is 99th and Passaro 207th, and they have met once — last year's Roland-Garros first round, a five-setter de Jong won from two sets down (3-6 6-7(7) 6-4 7-6(1) 6-1). That match is the most useful thing on the page: it says Passaro can lead him and it says de Jong does not stop. Their seasons are 11–19 and 6–6; Passaro comes through qualifying with three wins already banked. Hard court favours de Jong slightly (27–32 to 22–20 in raw terms, with a 71-point hard-court Elo edge). De Jong in four, and possibly the long way round again.
The case for Jesper de Jong
62% to winHe has beaten this opponent before, and he did it after losing the first two sets — the sort of win that tells you something about a fifth set. He is 108 places higher in the world, and while 11–19 is a hard season, a best-of-five format is where his stubbornness pays.
The case for Francesco Passaro
38% to winPassaro is the fresher and more in-form player: 6–6 on the season against 11–19, plus three qualifying wins on these courts this week. He led their only meeting two sets to love, so the blueprint exists, and de Jong has never won a main-draw match at this tournament.
Both cases written 2026-08-29, before the first ball — frozen into the record exactly as written, whatever the result. The percentages are mine — opinions with a percent sign on. They add to 100 because tennis has no draw to hide the rounding in.
My locked pick: Jesper de Jong to advance ✓ RIGHT
“He has already beaten Passaro from two sets down over five, and holds the hard-court edge.”
Locked 2026-08-29 01:40 UTC — rendered verbatim from the pick ledger; never a fresher, hedged version
Tale of the tape
Jesper de JongFrancesco PassaroPlayer vitals: US Open official player feed (usopen.org) and Tennis Abstract career match logs · as of 2026-08-28.
Career head-to-head: Tennis Abstract career match logs (tour-level) · as of 2026-08-28.
Storylines
- Their only previous meeting went five sets at Roland-Garros in 2025 — Passaro led two sets to love and lost.
- Passaro is through qualifying for the second straight year; both men lost in the first round here in 2025.
- Neither has won a US Open main-draw match: the winner records a career first.
Head to head
One meeting: Roland-Garros 2025, first round, de Jong 3-6 6-7(7) 6-4 7-6(1) 6-1 after trailing by two sets.
Source: Tennis Abstract career match logs (tour-level) · as of 2026-08-28.
Court & schedule: Court 4, Wednesday 2 September. The US Open posts each day's order of play the evening before; this one is on the board. (Official US Open order of play, as of 2026-09-02)
Weather: Sunday — the men's final, and the last match of the fortnight — was forecast at 78°F with showers and thunderstorms 95% likely, the wettest day of the two weeks and the one day that could not be pushed back. The rain came in the morning and stopped before the final, which Ashe played with its roof open. It cleared from there: 15% overnight, 15% Monday, then dry and sunny. (National Weather Service New York forecast, as of 2026-09-13)
Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York — hard.