J. C. Aragone traveled to New York this month without any guarantees. For him to even land a spot in the qualifying tournament for the United States Open, he needed several other players to drop out. So he waited.
“And then the phone rang,” he said.
Aragone, 22, got good news and capitalized, winning all three of his qualifying matches to earn a berth in the main draw as the 534th-ranked player in the world. His run was stirring enough to capture the attention of fans who gathered to watch his first-round match against Kevin Anderson on Monday afternoon.