Birrell breaks US Open jinx as Duckworth delivers Australian upset in New York

Birrell finally clears the first-round barrier

Kim Birrell has turned years of frustration at the US Open into a breakthrough victory, coming from a set down to defeat Croatia’s Petra Marcinko and advance to the second round for the first time. The Australian was forced to return after an overnight rain interruption, and the finish demanded composure as well as endurance. Her eventual 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 win ended a run of first-round exits in New York in 2023, 2024 and 2025, giving the Queenslander a long-awaited reward for persistence. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-01/kim-birrell-defeats-petra-marcinko-in-us-open-first-round/107100632?utm_source=openai))

Birrell’s result matters not only because it ends a personal streak, but because of how it was achieved. She had already faced pressure in the second-set tiebreak before play was halted, then returned the next day needing to reset mentally and physically. Reports from ABC described her saving match point before finding a way through a tricky contest that had previously slipped toward another early exit. In a Grand Slam draw that can punish hesitation, Birrell showed the kind of resilience that often separates a narrow loss from a career-defining win. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-01/kim-birrell-defeats-petra-marcinko-in-us-open-first-round/107100632?utm_source=openai))

The victory also fits a broader pattern in Birrell’s 2026 season. ABC noted that she had recently beaten higher-profile opposition at the French Open, suggesting her rise has been built on more than one-off momentum. While a first-round US Open win may not be enough on its own to rewrite a career, it does indicate that she has become more capable of handling deep, emotionally taxing matches against accomplished opponents. For Birrell, that is as important as the ranking points or prize money that come with moving on. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-27/tennis-birrell-upsets-pegula-osaka-sabalenka-win-french-open/106725778?utm_source=openai))

Duckworth adds to the Australian surge

James Duckworth delivered the day’s other headline result for Australia by beating Matteo Arnaldi, the 30th seed and a player with recent French Open semifinal credentials, in four sets. ABC reported the score as 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(8), a comeback that underlined Duckworth’s ability to stay in the contest after dropping the opening set. The result was widely framed as one of the early shocks of the tournament because it came against a seeded player expected to control the match more comfortably. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-01/kim-birrell-maya-joint-james-duckworth-us-open-first-round-wins/107100632?utm_source=openai))

Duckworth’s win is significant because it was not merely a seed upset on paper; it came through sustained pressure over a long match. According to the reporting, he recovered from the first-set loss, took control through the middle sets, and then closed out a tense fourth-set tiebreak. That sequence suggests a player who was not relying on a hot streak from the baseline alone, but on tactical patience and the willingness to absorb momentum swings. In a major where lower-ranked veterans can often be overlooked, Duckworth reminded the field that experience can still be decisive. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-01/kim-birrell-maya-joint-james-duckworth-us-open-first-round-wins/107100632?utm_source=openai))

For Australian tennis, the two results together created one of the clearest success stories of the opening rounds. ABC said Birrell, Maya Joint and Duckworth all advanced, turning the first few days at Flushing Meadows into a productive stretch for the Australian contingent. That is meaningful in a tournament where national depth is often measured not just by one leading name, but by how many players can survive the opening week and keep the draw alive. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-01/kim-birrell-maya-joint-james-duckworth-us-open-first-round-wins/107100632?utm_source=openai))

Rain, recovery and a demanding opening week

The opening day at the US Open was shaped by weather, with rain suspending play on outside courts and delaying several matches, including Birrell’s. ABC reported that Birrell was in a second-set tiebreak when play was called off, leaving the outcome unresolved until the next day. That kind of interruption can be especially difficult at a hard-court major, where temperature, crowd rhythm and mental flow can all shift overnight. In practical terms, Birrell had to manage not only her opponent, but also the uncertainty and disruption caused by the weather. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-31/us-open-first-round-taylah-preston-wins-rain-suspends-play/107096452?utm_source=openai))

The broader opening-round picture for Australians was mixed, which made the positive results stand out even more. ABC reported that Taylah Preston also advanced, while other Australians including Storm Hunter, Talia Gibson and Adam Walton were eliminated on day one. That context matters because Grand Slam campaigns are often judged in aggregate: a few breakthroughs can offset early losses and create the impression of a stronger national showing than the raw win-loss total might suggest. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-31/us-open-first-round-taylah-preston-wins-rain-suspends-play/107096452?utm_source=openai))

Birrell’s and Duckworth’s wins also show how first-round results can shape the rest of a tournament for a country’s players. A second-round appearance means more court time, more exposure and, in Birrell’s case, a chance to build on a result that had long eluded her in New York. For Duckworth, beating a seed improves the value of an already encouraging week and sets up a second act in a draw that is now slightly more open for him than it was before he stepped on court. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-01/kim-birrell-maya-joint-james-duckworth-us-open-first-round-wins/107100632?utm_source=openai))

What it means going forward

The immediate takeaway is straightforward: Birrell has finally solved a US Open problem that had lingered for three straight years, while Duckworth has scored a result that can reshape his tournament and perhaps his perception among opponents. Both wins were earned through resilience rather than routine, and both came in a setting where margins are thin and pressure is constant. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-01/kim-birrell-defeats-petra-marcinko-in-us-open-first-round/107100632?utm_source=openai))

There is also a wider tennis lesson in the day’s results. Grand Slam tournaments often elevate the players who can tolerate interruption, recover after setbacks and remain disciplined when a match becomes messy. Birrell did that after rain halted play and after a match point scare. Duckworth did it after losing the first set to a seeded opponent. Those are different kinds of tests, but they point to the same quality: competitive stubbornness under stress. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-31/us-open-first-round-taylah-preston-wins-rain-suspends-play/107096452?utm_source=openai))

For Australian tennis fans, the story from New York is therefore more than a single upset or a one-off breakthrough. It is a reminder that depth still exists in the women’s and men’s draws, and that players outside the top headline names can still generate meaningful results on the sport’s biggest stages. If Birrell can build on the confidence of finally winning at Flushing Meadows, and Duckworth can keep turning gritty starts into victories, Australia’s US Open week may yet produce more than a pair of useful early-round headlines. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-01/kim-birrell-maya-joint-james-duckworth-us-open-first-round-wins/107100632?utm_source=openai))

Sources

ABC News Australia reported Birrell’s comeback win over Petra Marcinko and Duckworth’s upset of Matteo Arnaldi, along with the rain delay that interrupted Birrell’s match. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-31/us-open-first-round-taylah-preston-wins-rain-suspends-play/107096452?utm_source=openai))

Tennis.com and WTA match pages confirmed the US Open matchups and tournament context for Birrell-Marcinko and Duckworth-Arnaldi. ([wtatennis.com](https://www.wtatennis.com/tournaments/905/us-open/2026/scores/LS74124888?utm_source=openai))

Metadata

Sources:

• ABC News Australia
• ABC News Australia
• ABC News Australia
• WTA
• Tennis.com