Daniil Medvedev overcame a bizarre mid-match interruption from two birds to reach the US Open third round, beating American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny 6-1 6-3 7-5. The birds landed on the net during a second-set rally, and although play continued around them for several strokes, the umpire eventually ordered the point replayed just after Medvedev believed he had won it with a cross-court forehand, prompting the Russian to protest on court. The moment added to Medvedev's reputation for on-court flashpoints, though it did not derail his progress into the second week of a Grand Slam, something he has managed only once in his last seven majors.

The seventh seed, who won the opening set in just 21 minutes, called the incident one of his "top five" strangest US Open experiences and will next face Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech. His opponent Gorzny, ranked 731 in the world, was making his Grand Slam debut after qualifying via a US collegiate wildcard playoff, seven years after nearly dying from a suspected mosquito-borne brain infection that put him in an induced coma as a teenager.