September 6, 2026 — 9:02amDane Sweeny plans to reinvest his “career-changing” US Open prizemoney into his tennis while trying to maximise his potential after his unlikely run as the last Australian standing ended.The 25-year-old wildcard from the Sunshine Coast had never won a grand slam match before this year’s Australian Open, and backed that up by reaching the third round in a career-best effort in New York this week.Australia’s Dane Sweeny fought hard before going down in straight sets.AP Photo/Kirsty WigglesworthNewly coached by ex-Davis Cup player Peter Luczak, Sweeny upset Italy’s world No.14 Lorenzo Musetti to make it this far – but a second straight seeded Italian proved too much for him as Luciano Darderi eliminated the Australian 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 13 minutes.“It’s been an amazing week, a career-changing week,” Sweeny said.“But I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed with today’s performance. I just wasn’t really feeling it; not really feeling the timing and the rhythm as I have been. I made a lot of cheap errors and that was quite frustrating.“I was OK to lose a match, but I really wanted to test him more and bring a good level, so I could make an absolute fight out of it ... I wasn’t able to do that.”Sweeny’s second-round victory over Musetti was not only his maiden top-20 scalp, but also his first against a top-50 opponent, guaranteeing him prizemoney of more than $400,000.This is all still new for the 123rd-ranked Australian, who remains without an apparel sponsor. The reward for his pair of US Open wins will be a career-high ranking of No.109 once the tournament ends.Sweeny has about three months to make his top-100 debut in time to earn direct acceptance into next year’s Australian Open, but would be a certain wildcard recipient if not.“I’ll actually be able to put some money in the bank,” Sweeny said.Italy’s Luciano Darderi eliminated Sweeny.AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth“My brother’s a financial advisor, so I’ll just give him all the money … I’m always investing back in my tennis. That’s the No.1 goal; to do all I can to be the best player I can be.“Beating a top-15 player here and reaching the third round; I can take a lot of confidence from this week. But I don’t think this is my ceiling at all. I’ve got a lot to go.Sweeny scored Tennis Australia’s reciprocal wildcard, which was meant for Alexei Popyrin until a series of withdrawals enabled him to sneak into the draw.He made the most of his fortune, starting with an upset of eccentric Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the first round. But it was tough going against 22nd-ranked Darderi.Sweeny handed an early advantage to the barrel-chested Italian with a loose third game on serve, including a missed volley and double fault before his jumping backhand drive volley thudded into the net.He almost slipped two breaks behind, but escaped that peril, then turned the screws on Darderi, who staved off a break point with some excellent serving. The 21st seed was also 15-30 in his next service game, as Sweeny settled into the contest, but did enough to secure the opening set.Sweeny’s approach was obvious: take the ball early, be aggressive, defend like his life depended on it, and finish points at the net where possible.His aggressive counter-punching meant he had to cop an inflated number of unforced errors, some of them missing by a fair way. But after a competitive first set, Sweeny dug himself a hole with consecutive errors from 30-30 to immediately concede a break in the second.Sweeny provided some spectacular moments, but could not snatch a set off his Italian rival.AP Photo/Kirsty WigglesworthThe Australian could have fallen away but instead grabbed the break straight back, kick-started by a terrific chase-down followed by an angled backhand winner to the opposite service box.Darderi was incensed, and picked up an audible obscenity warning. Sweeny continued to fight as Darderi argued with the chair umpire about his warning.Sweeny is only 170 centimetres tall, so he doesn’t get many cheap points on serve, particularly against an opponent with Darderi’s power. That led to him being under pressure a lot, and back-to-back misses from 30-all proved his undoing as he fell 3-2 behind.Darderi survived a riveting 33-shot rally at 30-all in the next game with an inside-out forehand blast that finally broke through the Australian’s defences.He held serve for 4-2, then broke Sweeny again a few games later to go two sets up.Sweeny refused to quit – that is not in his DNA – and earned a break point in the opening game of the third set. A frenzied volley exchange followed between the players, which Darderi won despite Sweeny launching himself at the shot that beat him.He spent the next period nursing a sore right elbow, the latest ailment for a player who is never afraid to dive across the court to stay in points.Darderi again escaped, then broke Sweeny with a superb backhand lob winner to go 2-0 up. The Australian battler kept fighting and snatched back the break to breathe life into his cause.Coco Gauff is hunting a second US Open title.AP Photo/Yuki IwamuraBut it was always difficult for Sweeny to hold serve. He won barely half his first-serve points, which was never a winning formula against Darderi, one of six Italians in the top 50.Sweeny dropped serve for a sixth time to go 3-1 down, and his gallant Flushing Meadows ended soon after.Elsewhere, Coco Gauff, the 2024 winner, advanced to the fourth round as she continues to spearhead the host nation’s title hopes, but fellow Americans Taylor Fritz, Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys were all surprise losers. Learner Tien advanced, too.Roland-Garros runner-up Flavio Cobolli also exited the US Open early, losing 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 to Belgian rising star Alexander Blockx.But grand slam champions Alexander Zverev, Iga Swiatek, Naomi Osaka and Mirra Andreeva dodged the carnage to move into the last 16.With AAPWatch the US Open live on 9GO!, 9NOW and Stan Sport.News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.From our partners