{"id":2045,"date":"2026-09-04T17:10:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T15:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/?p=2045"},"modified":"2026-09-04T17:10:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T15:10:24","slug":"us-open-day-5-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/2026\/09\/04\/us-open-day-5-3\/","title":{"rendered":"US Open &#8211; Day 5"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Day 5 of the US Open 2026 was packed with drama: Alexander Zverev survived another five-set marathon, Dane Sweeny stunned Lorenzo Musetti, and Taylor Fritz demolished Mattia Bellucci. On the women\u2019s side, Naomi Osaka, Madison Keys, and Iga \u015awi\u0105tek all advanced, while Maria Sakkari fell in a shock upset.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Alexander Zverev<\/strong>: The top seed endured another grueling five-setter, beating Quentin Halys 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. He\u2019s now spent over nine hours on court in just two rounds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dane Sweeny<\/strong>: Pulled off the upset of the day, defeating 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti in four sets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Taylor Fritz<\/strong>: Dropped just two games in a ruthless 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 win over Mattia Bellucci.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Botic van de Zandschulp<\/strong>: Continued his strong New York form, beating Alex de Minaur in straight sets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Karen Khachanov<\/strong>: Knocked out 3rd seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who struggled with dizziness and vision problems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Learner Tien<\/strong>: Ended Gael Monfils\u2019 final Grand Slam run, winning in straight sets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Naomi Osaka<\/strong>: Battled past Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Madison Keys<\/strong>: Came from behind to beat Anna Bondar 5-7, 6-4, 7-6.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Iga \u015awi\u0105tek<\/strong>: Defeated Nadia Podoroska 6-3, 6-2, looking sharp.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Maria Sakkari<\/strong>: Fell to Yuliia Starodubtseva in a stunning upset, 1-6, 7-6, 6-2.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mirra Andreeva<\/strong>: Continued her rise with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 win over Eva Lys.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udcca Fantasy League Impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Big winners<\/strong>: Managers who backed Fritz, Khachanov, and Osaka scored big points.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Upset pain<\/strong>: Auger-Aliassime and Sakkari exits punished those who relied on seeded consistency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dark horses<\/strong>: Dane Sweeny and Yuliia Starodubtseva are emerging as surprise point machines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd2e What\u2019s Next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Can <strong>Zverev<\/strong> survive another marathon, or will fatigue catch up?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will <strong>\u015awi\u0105tek<\/strong> and <strong>Osaka<\/strong> continue their strong runs?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>More upsets seem inevitable \u2014 fantasy managers should brace for volatility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udcca Fantasy League Leaderboard Update \u2013 US Open 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Day 5\u2019s action has shaken the fantasy standings yet again, and we\u2019ve got a new leader at the top:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Christopher Columbus<\/strong> has climbed into <strong>first place<\/strong> with a commanding <strong>111 points<\/strong>, pulling clear of the pack.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A four-way tie for second place makes things spicy: <strong>Royal Gamers<\/strong>, <strong>Kids pick<\/strong>, <strong>Miny Moe<\/strong>, and <strong>Hot Shots<\/strong> are all sitting on <strong>96 points<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Serving looks<\/strong> has slipped to 6th with 95 points, while <strong>Lucky Leftie<\/strong> is just behind on 94.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd25 Movers and Shakers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Net Net<\/strong> surged into the top 10 with 93 points, proving that mid-table teams can leap forward quickly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dropshots<\/strong> and <strong>Tournament Director<\/strong> are locked at 92 points, keeping the chase tight.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hit and Run<\/strong> and <strong>Nutty Choice<\/strong> remain steady in the top 15, while <strong>A Sinister Open<\/strong> and <strong>Getting Better<\/strong> made notable climbs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfbe What It Means<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>gap at the top<\/strong> is widening, but Christopher Columbus isn\u2019t untouchable \u2014 one upset could swing momentum back to the chasing pack.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>cluster at 96 points<\/strong> means second place is wide open, with four teams battling neck-and-neck.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>mid-table surge<\/strong> shows how volatile the league is \u2014 teams like Net Net and Canniballs are proving that one strong day can change everything.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"542\" height=\"707\" src=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2049\" srcset=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-9.png 542w, http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-9-230x300.png 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 542px) 100vw, 542px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"550\" height=\"596\" src=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-11.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2051\" srcset=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-11.png 550w, http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-11-277x300.png 277w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Day 5 of the US Open 2026 was packed with drama: Alexander Zverev survived another five-set marathon, Dane Sweeny stunned Lorenzo Musetti, and Taylor Fritz demolished Mattia Bellucci. On the women\u2019s side, Naomi Osaka, Madison Keys, and Iga \u015awi\u0105tek all advanced, while Maria Sakkari fell in a shock upset. \ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s Highlights \ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s Highlights [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-open-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2045"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2052,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045\/revisions\/2052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}