Nigeria’s Oluwaseun “Seun” Ogunsakin has taken another major step in his junior career, fighting back from a set down to defeat 15th seed Kuan-Shou Chen and record his first victory in the main draw of a junior Grand Slam.
The 17-year-old recovered from losing the opening set 5-7 to take the next two 6-3, 7-5 at the US Open Junior Championships in New York, booking his place in the second round.
For Ogunsakin, this was more than a routine opening-round win.
He had already been forced to earn his place in the 64-player boys’ singles main draw through qualifying, beating Poland’s Tymon Litwic 6-3, 6-0 before overcoming top qualifying seed Felix Roussel of Canada 6-3, 6-4.
That made Chen another pressure point rather than the beginning of the challenge.
Ogunsakin dropped a tight opening set but refused to let the match escape. He levelled by taking the second 6-3, then edged a tense deciding set 7-5 to complete the comeback and extend a New York run that has now required three victories across qualifying and the main draw.
The US Open Junior Championships are the fourth and final Junior Grand Slam of the season, placing Ogunsakin’s breakthrough on one of the biggest development stages in world tennis.
For Nigerian tennis, the run offers something CranseSports’ radar does not get often enough: a Nigerian athlete producing a live Grand Slam storyline outside football.
Ogunsakin arrived in the main draw through pressure, survived another three-set test against a seeded opponent and now has another chance to push deeper into championship week.
New York has already given him his first Grand Slam main-draw win.
The next question is how far he can take it.
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