Samuel breaks more new ground with first win at a Slam

British qualifier Toby Samuel broke more new ground with a dominant victory over Tomas Machac on his US Open main-draw debut.

The 23-year-old came from a set down in each of his three qualifying matches in New York this week to guarantee a third Grand Slam appearance of the year.

However, he had no such issues against former world number 20 Machac, wrapping up a 6-2 6-3 6-2 victory in just over 90 minutes to register his first win at a Grand Slam.

"It means everything to me. It's what I dreamt of as a kid watching these big tournaments," Samuel told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Being able to win my first Grand Slam match is unbelievable."

Just two years ago, Samuel fell to almost 2,000th in the world rankings as bone bruising in his right arm ruled him out of much of the 2024 season.

He now sits inside the top 100 in the live ATP rankings, along with earning $140,000 (£103,000) in prize money in the biggest payday of his career so far.

Samuel won 36 of 39 matches on the ATP Challenger Tour to return to the top 300 last year, but has reached new heights in 2026.

The Winchester native came through qualifying to make his Grand Slam debut at the French Open, having never previously contested a single match on the ATP Tour.

He continued that momentum with a run to the semi-finals at Eastbourne, a Wimbledon wildcard, and a third Challenger crown of the year on Winnipeg's hard courts.

Samuel's new ranking would secure automatic qualification for next January's Australian Open, completing the set of major appearances a year after making his top-250 debut.

Admitting to being starstruck in the locker room at Roland Garros by the likes of Alexander Zverev, Samuel is slowly adjusting to his new surroundings.

"I'm still a little bit but I'm definitely more comfortable being around those top guys because I could be playing them the next day," he said.

"I have to start thinking of them not as stars but people I can play against."

Clinical in the opening two sets against Machac, he dropped just five points across his nine service games, including three successive holds to love as part of a seven-game winning run.

Trailing 2-0 at the start of the third set, he recovered to win the next six games – including saving two break points – to set up a second-round meeting with Czech 18th seed Jiri Lehecka.

Like Arthur Fery, his 2019 Wimbledon boys' doubles partners who shot up the rankings following an unexpected run to this year's SW19 semi-finals, Samuel has benefitted from the American collegiate system.

The former junior world number 57 was encouraged by his parents to pursue a degree at the University of South Carolina, where he won an All American doubles title and adjusted to the "super lively" crowds.

Several of his Carolina team-mates were in attendance for his first-round win, with Samuel crediting their "fighting energy" with helping him "get the job done" against Machac.

However his parents - who watched him throughout qualifying - were supporting another of their tennis-playing children on his college journey.

"My brother's just started university in America so they flew out to help him settle in, and I think my dad will fly back out for the second round," Samuel added.

Cameron Norrie, the 29th seed, believes he was his own worst enemy as he lost to Frenchman Luca Van Assche in four sets.

The British number two twice recovered from losing serve, including being broken in the first game of the match, to clinch the first-set in a tie-break, but only won seven games across the next three sets.

Tellingly, his unforced-error count (49) was more than double his opponent's (21) as he suffered a third consecutive first-round exit at a Grand Slam.

"It was really tough," said Norrie. "I was pretty nervous and it showed in the beginning of the first set, and I did well to steal that first set.

"I could never really maintain a good level of energy and momentum. That was super frustrating and pretty surprising.

"I felt like I lost to myself today."