Overland Park’s Murphy Cassone plays in 1st U.S. Open tennis tourney. Here’s how he did

With a scream from his lips and a left fist hoisted toward the sky, Overland Park’s Murphy Cassone soaked in the cheers from the crowd at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Tuesday.

The 20-year-old was making his debut on the Grand Slam stage, and in front of a few hundred fans on Court 12, he was a mere three points away from beating veteran Liam Broady deep in the second set of a first-round U.S. Open qualifying match.

But under the blistering New York heat, Cassone couldn’t quite finish the job. He suffered severe leg cramps early in the third set, and barely able to move for Broady’s shots, Cassone fell, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-1.

Still, making it to this stage was a dream come true for the Overland Park Racquet Club product.

“The experience was so great, but it just sucks that it ended that way,” Cassone said a few minutes after the match. “This (cramping) has been going on all year long; I just haven’t figured out a way to get past it.”

With Mom Wendy, Dad Ralph and other family friends watching, Cassone got off to a fabulous start. He broke the veteran British player Broady twice in the opening set, and after falling behind 5-3 in the second set, he rallied back to win the next three games. The highlight was a huge forehand passing shot that brought him within three points of a win.

But Broady steadied and took the tiebreaker, and then at 1-1 in the third Cassone suddenly pulled up in the middle of a point. After a medical timeout, he tried to continue but couldn’t offer much resistance.

“This was incredible for all of us to be here, but especially for him,” Wendy Cassone said. “We know he’ll be back and we’re very proud that he fought so hard today.”

Eric Rand, Cassone’s coach for the past three years out of Overland Park Racquet Club, said he and Cassone looked at this week as a major opportunity to get experience.

“We talked about enjoying the moment and not feeling any pressure,” Rand said. “He wasn’t nervous and has been playing so well this year.”

Cassone, who turned 20 on Aug. 16, is coming off a sensational freshman season at Arizona State, where he was named ITA Rookie of the year. He went 15-5 as a Sun Devil in singles, beating four Top 10 opponents along the way and earning the International Tennis Association’s Rookie of the Year award.

He then won 17 matches this year on ATP’s minor-league tours, showing the USTA he was worthy of a wild card into qualifying at the U.S. Open.

“We knew he was incredibly capable, but his progression was faster than what you’d expect; not many true freshmen come in and do what he did,” Sun Devils coach Matt Hill said.

Cassone grew up in Overland Park, trained in Florida for a bit during COVID in 2020 and hit with some other American pros during that time, including Top 30 U.S. star Reilly Opelka.

But he came back to Kansas to work on his game before heading off to Tempe, where he excelled well enough to garner attention from the USTA.

“I wasn’t the most mature kid growing up, so maturing has really helped, and the USTA gave me a big boost this summer,” Cassone said. “Really grateful for that.”

Cassone now plans to play some more pro tournaments before returning to Tempe for another year of college tennis.

“We’ve had a plan for him all along and he’s been so focused and doing everything his coaches ask of him,” Rand said. “This was such a big step for him, to get to play at a Grand Slam.”