(VIDEO) "He’ll text me ‘I hope your mother dies’": Leandro Riedi confronts gambling fan at US Open

Leandro Riedi earned a historic win at the US Open against world No. 19 Francisco Cerundolo, reaching the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. The 23-year-old Swiss player advanced to the round of 32 at Flushing Meadows, coming back from a two-set deficit to win a five-set battle.

It looked like an easy day for the Argentinian, who was trying to reach the US Open third round for the first time. He was the heavy favorite against an inexperienced Riedi, who had a low ranking of No. 435. Cerundolo led the match 6-3, 6-4, 2-0, but slowly everything began to crumble against the young Swiss's resilience.

Riedi got the break back in the fourth game and took control of the momentum. The Swiss won the third and fourth sets to force a decider. Cerundolo was the first to break in the third game of the final set, but that was the last game the Argentinian would win. Riedi strung together a series of points against a frustrated Cerundolo and won the final five games consecutively to secure one of the best wins of his career and his first appearance in the round of 32 at a major.

A year ago, Riedi was ranked No. 117 and seemed to be on his way to the top 100. However, he suffered a right knee injury that required surgery and kept him off the courts for nine months, causing him to lose all his ranking progress. His run this week has already allowed him to climb almost 200 spots to No. 237, with the possibility of advancing to the top 170 if he can win his next match against Kamil Majchrzak.

Riedi experienced a unique situation during his match against Cerundolo. At a changeover, shouts and insults were exchanged between the player and a spectator. "Shut up!" Riedi was heard yelling while drinking water after losing his serve in the fourth set. "He’s just betting and then if I lose he’ll text me. It’s one of these guys, get him off. I don’t want to see this guy. If I lose he’ll text me ‘I hope your mother dies’."

After the match, the Swiss player explained the situation in a press conference. "He was already there in the first round, and he was yelling my name from the very first point," he explained. "I immediately thought to myself: 'He's a gambler, for sure.' In the fourth set, I was thinking, 'He's cheering for me, but if I lose this match, he's going to send me a message on social media to tell me how bad I am and to wish my mother would die. He can't stay there and wish for my mother's death.' I heard him say to me: 'Keep going, don't give up!' I was so annoyed by the situation that I asked for him to be thrown out. They took him out; at least I didn't hear him anymore."

"There are more and more of them, but you can configure your Instagram account to limit them," he said. "They are easy to recognize: they always have their heads in their phones," he observed. "They're often dressed the same, with a cap, sometimes glasses. In the first round, when my opponent hit a double fault, he celebrated it with way too much enthusiasm. So I knew he knew nothing about tennis. He wanted me to win because my ranking, outside the top 400, is interesting for gamblers (higher odds mean more money to win). Maybe he went 'all in' on me..."

"And even if he's cheering for me, it's annoying because I feel bad for my opponent," added the Swiss player. "My cousin came to watch me play, and after the match, he told me: 'You had a huge supporter!' I replied: 'No, no, he's not a fan, he's a gambler.'"

Leandro Riedi (No. 435) made history as one of the lowest-ranked players to reach the third round of a Grand Slam, at least among those who have never reached the top 100. The Swiss player, whose career-high ranking is No. 117, came through the qualifying rounds after a long injury layoff over the past year.

The 23-year-old player became the fourth-lowest-ranked male tennis player to reach the third round of a major without ever having cracked the top 100. The others were Bret Garnett (No. 540, Australian Open 1992), Nick Brown (No. 591, Wimbledon 1991), and Danny Sapsford (No. 595, Wimbledon 1999).