Choinski falls short of epic comeback on US Open debut

British qualifier Jan Choinski threatened to produce a memorable victory from two sets down on his US Open main draw debut before running out of steam in a thriller.

Choinski, who won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw in New York, lost 6-2 6-3 5-7 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 to Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena in the first round.

The British men's number 10 ultimately paid the price for making too many unforced errors, particularly in the opening two sets.

He will also rue being unable to take any of five break points in the first game of the deciding set, having led 0-40.

Choinski, ranked 276th in the world, was the first British player in action on day one at Flushing Meadows.

British women's number three Harriet Dart plays France's Chloe Paquet about 23:30 BST.

Dart, 28, is aiming to back up her encouraging run to the Wimbledon third round in July.

Four other Britons - Jack Draper, Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu and Dan Evans - play their opening matches on Tuesday.

The US Open is the first major tournament since former world number one Andy Murray retired in an Olympic farewell at Paris 2024 last month.

For any player ranked outside of the world's top 250, qualifying for the main draw of a major is a huge deal and Choinski will ultimately take lots of satisfaction from his time in New York.

The prize money of £75,000 will also be very useful as Germany-born Choinski looks to climb back up the rankings.

However, there will also be a sense of regret at not taking his chances to claim the second major win of his career.

Having switched allegiance to Great Britain in 2019, he reached a career-high ranking of 123rd last year but has struggled for consistency this season.

But the big server with an aggressive forehand played his way into a Grand Slam first round for the first time - having previously been given wildcards to play at Wimbledon - by beating Argentina's Pedro Cachin, France's Valentin Vacherot and American Maxime Cressy in New York qualifying.

Choinski - whose English mother and Polish father met while attending ballet dancing school in Germany - looked to maintain his rhythm against 55th-ranked Carballes Baena.

While admitting he had "little expectation" going into Monday's first-round match, Choinski promised he would leave everything on court. That's what he did.

Trailing by two sets and a break, Choinski looked to be heading for a quick exit as Carballes Baena's doggedness and ability to put lots of balls back from the baseline led him to make a flurry of wild unforced errors.

Suddenly, midway through the third set, the British player began to find his range with winners now outweighing the mistakes.

Demonstrating his physical and mental toughness, Choinski recovered from early breaks to win the third and fourth sets, levelling the match and forcing what had seemed an unlikely decider.

Carballes Baena left the court for an extended bathroom break, returning calmer and more composed as Choinski became erratic again on the way to losing in four hours and 31 minutes.