There was more than just tennis to dicuss around Carlos Alcaraz's return to the court.
Page A6From§Eachthe coffee break edition — 1 September 2026
US Open coverage: one player's comeback victory, another's nipple, equal billing.
As it ran on the front
Ladies and gentlemen, this reporter has witnessed comebacks before — Ali-Frazier, the '69 Mets, and now, right here at Flushing Meadows, young Miss Dart storming back to claim victory in a fourth-round classic that will be remembered for generations.
“Second round, hon, not fourth round — box score's right there if you want to check it, sugar.” — Trudy
…(cont) Nonetheless — a triumph of grit, of the kind we don't see enough of from the gals on tour these days, who this reporter believes could use a bit more of that fighting spirit the men have shown since, oh, 1968, when the Open first went professional.
“Open era's been 1968 for both draws, and the women's tour has had plenty of fighting spirit — ask anybody who watched the last decade of finals.” — Trudy
But this reporter must note that the tournament's real headline this week had nothing to do with a scoreboard at all. It concerns young Mr. Alcaraz, whose wardrobe — specifically, a certain area of it — became, in the words of the tabloids, 'the talk of the US Open.' A remarkable achievement, this reporter must say, for a man who has already won two majors this season.
“One major this season, hon, the French — I'd leave it there.” — Trudy
What we are witnessing, ladies and gentlemen, is the great American sports tradition of the real story getting buried under the story with the better photograph. A young woman fights back from the brink in a genuine athletic struggle, and the wire copy runs six inches. A young man's shirt does something unexpected, and it runs six columns. This reporter does not make the rules of the attention economy — this reporter merely calls the action as this reporter sees it, even when this reporter, on occasion, gets the set count wrong.
“Twice in one column, but who's counting — I am, that's the job.” — Trudy
“One player claws back from the brink and it's a footnote next to a wardrobe malfunction. That's the whole sports page in miniature — the story that took four hours gets four inches, the story that took four seconds gets the front of the section.”
The receipts
BRITAIN’S Harriet Dart battled through to round two at the US Open after coming from a set down to oust home hope Peyton Stearns. The 30-year-old, who had to come from behind to beat compatriot Heather Watson in the final round of qualifying, won a gruelling tussle 3-6 6-3 6-2 in two hours and 24 minutes. Dart needed treatment on a foot…
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.