The cheers couldn’t quite be heard on Pine Hollow Road or East Main Street in Oyster Bay.
But they were pretty darn loud.
Monday at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, a Long Island kid who grew up coming to the Open made some history of his own.
Oyster Bay High School graduate Patrick Maloney played his first-ever match at the US Open, competing in the men’s qualifying draw.
And before hundreds of Long Islanders cheering him on, Maloney got his first Grand Slam win.
Dominating the first set and then rallying from behind in the second, the 25-year-old Maloney defeated Elias Ymer of Sweden, 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the first round of qualifying.
After Ymer’s last groundstroke flew long, Maloney raised both arms in triumph while sporting a smile as wide as Long Island Sound, soaking in the cheers all around him.
With two more victories, Maloney will be in the US Open main draw.
“It was a dream come true,” Maloney said, after signing dozens of autographs and hugging many family and friends.
“Even better than I imagined,” he said. “So many friends from high school, so many family members, being on a side court, I could hear them all. I couldn’t have had a better match.”
“It’s a dream come true for Patrick, and also for us,” said Michael Maloney, Patrick’s father. “He’s worked so hard to get here.”
Maloney’s first U.S. Open win came thanks to his biggest weapons: A huge forehand, a big serve, and steady volleys.
He broke Ymer’s serve in the fourth game of the opening set, and calmly held his serve from there.
The second set brought some problems, as Ymer, a former junior star, broke Maloney early in the set and grabbed a quick 4-1 lead.
“When you get down that early break, it feels like a lot, but you just have to keep telling yourself it’s only one break, and you can get it back,” Maloney said.
Down 5-3, Maloney broke Ymer’s serve, and then the two men held until the tiebreak. At 3-all in the breaker, Maloney’s serve came up huge. He won 89% of his first serve points on Monday, while Ymer struggled, winning just 74%.
Maloney forced three errors in a row to win the match and start the celebration.
The righthander’s path from a childhood in Oyster Bay to the US Open has been a slow and steady one.
Never the flashiest but often the steadiest, Maloney grew up with a big forehand and a big serve, excelling at several USTA levels on his way to Oyster Bay High School.
Maloney’s longtime coach, Adrian Chirici of Robbie Wagner Tennis Academy in Glen Cove, first met his student at age 14.
“I thought his game was special, especially for a kid that age,” Chirici said. “He had certain creativity and would use alternate methods to hit his shots. You could tell that he had a load of potential.”
Unusually for a top junior, Maloney decided to play high school tennis his senior year, and captured the 2018 Nassau County title and then the state championship. He was an All-American and chose to play for the University of Michigan, where he had an outstanding career.
Maloney played five seasons for the maize and blue, with his best year coming in 2022-23. He went 14-5 in in singles competition and reached the second round of the NCAA singles tournament.
Since leaving Michigan in 2023, Maloney has been playing minor league ITF tournaments. This year, he’s beaten former Top 30 players like Jenson Brooksby and captured the titles in Sherbrooke, Canada, in March and Ithaca, N.Y., in January.
“Patrick has always been slow and steady, but he’s never gone backwards,” said Maria Maloney, Patrick’s mom. “His trajectory has always been up, and we’re just so proud and happy for him.”
“I’m a slow learner,” Maloney said with a laugh. “But I get the hang of it and get better.”
Maloney plays again on Wednesday, and if he wins, he’ll play again on Thursday for a spot in the main draw.
