Dane Sweeny and Tristan Schoolkate reached the US Open second round on the same day, giving Australia two men through at Flushing Meadows and turning one pair of long-time friends into the story of the day. Sweeny advanced after Corentin Moutet retired while trailing 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 3-0, while Schoolkate beat Nishesh Basavareddy 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-3 6-4 in a little over three hours.
For Sweeny, the result carried more than one reward. The 25-year-old said the win was worth a $US190,000 pay day, and it also marked his maiden grand slam win outside Australia. That made the result bigger than a scoreline: it was a breakthrough at a major he had not conquered away from home before, and it arrived on a day when another Australian was doing the same job nearby.
The connection between the two runs runs deeper than one afternoon. Sweeny and Schoolkate have known each other since they were 10, and over the years they have shared practice courts, ping-pong tables and apartments around the world. Schoolkate said he was checking Sweeny’s score while his own match was unfolding, and Sweeny said he was rooting for the Australian boys and was especially pleased to see Schoolkate get through as well.
There was also a harder edge to Sweeny’s win. He played with a massive ice bag on his right elbow after repeatedly diving for volleys, and later said the lump keeps coming back because he lands on the same spot every time he dives. He said there is permanent fluid build-up there and that he cannot always help it because he is in the air before he even knows it. That made the victory more impressive, because it came while he was managing a problem that does not appear likely to vanish quickly.
Schoolkate had his own reasons to enjoy the day. He said the atmosphere was cool because the crowd was chanting USA, USA, and added that he had not lost in the first round at the US Open yet. He called the result his best match at the tournament, and said he and Sweeny were both amped when they saw each other that morning and hoped it would be a good day for them. It was, and now the second round brings another test: Sweeny will next play Lorenzo Musetti, while Schoolkate gets Fabio Cobolli, the fifth seed and the 2026 French Open runner-up. The next step will show whether two friends who started the day together can keep moving together.
