Here is a look at five of the best matches through the first week of the US Open men’s draw. While there were a variety of options to choose from, this article compiles a diverse group of matches from off the beaten path.

5) R1: Joao Sousa d. Frank Dancevic 7-6(6) 3-6 6-2 4-6 7-6(2)

In a massive battle between two unheralded journeymen, the seeded Sousa came back from 1-6 down in the opening-set tiebreak to take the first set. He also narrowly avoided a collapse in the fifth set from 5-2 up to win the match. Dancevic has consistently failed to win five-set contests, and he was in near tears having lost this in the end. Dancevic fired 17 aces and won nearly 80% of his net points, playing better overall for most of the match, but he seized up in key moments and Sousa’s tenacity won out.

4) R1: Simone Bolelli d. Vasek Pospisil 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-3

The Italian comeback story Bolelli knocked off the seeded young gun Pospisil in an entertaining round 1 encounter. Bolelli was quite poor in the first set, but he played considerably better tennis in the second and third frames, dictating play. Pospisil seemed to still have something left in the tank, though, and after taking the fourth set 6-3 he was favored to win in five. Bolelli got himself back into the match despite a negative winners/unforced errors ratio of 32/39. He was a positive 11/10 in that category during the final set. Pospisil meanwhile was far too erratic to win. He posted 51 errors and struggled to combat the Bolelli serve. Pospisil was broken at 3-4 in the fifth set and Bolelli held the next game to win the match.

3) R2: Tomas Berdych d. Martin Klizan 6-3 4-6 6-2 3-6 6-3

Tomas Berdych had to survive and advance in round 2 against the streaky Martin Klizan, who was seeking to grab another big upset at the US Open. Berdych had a statistical edge throughout the match, but Klizan held him to an even duel through four sets. The match lasted nearly four hours and Klizan fought hard all the way, slipping and stretching around the court. Berdych got a key break in the fifth set, although he was outplayed in it overall, and that was enough to get him through.

2) R1: Paul-Henri Mathieu d. Gilles Muller 6-7(7) 7-5 7-6(6) 6-7(5) 6-1

A competitive battle through the first four sets, this contest took place on a non-televised but packed to the brim Court 8. Muller fired 38 aces and had just 11 unforced errors throughout the entire match but came up short against his fellow veteran player Mathieu. The Frenchman had to deal with a rowdy Luxembourgish crowd that was seeking to see their man Muller get a victory, and he did well to win a key break in the second set and a tiebreak in the third to seize the initiative  in the match. All of the tiebreaks were close, and Muller simply ran out of gas on his powerful serve in the end. Muller was down a break in the fourth set and 2-5 down in the fourth-set tiebreak after that, but he managed to will a fifth set into fruition before fading.

1) R2: Tommy Robredo d. Simone Bolelli 5-7 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 6-2

This was a match that Robredo probably should have lost. He was on the ropes against the veteran Italian and his smooth strokes but clawed back, deservedly becoming one of three active players (the others being Roger Federer and Fernando Verdasco) who have come back from two sets to love down at every major at least once. Bolelli, who has had a strong comeback season from injury, once again came very close to beating a top player. His momentum collapsed after he was upset over a fan interfering with the match by shouting “out” during play. After dealing with the Robredo forehand and having a slight edge through the first two sets, including a crucial second-set tiebreak win, Bolelli begin to play in a much more erratic fashion, while Robredo kept the ball in play and grinded away. Bolelli put up an eye-popping 64 winners, compared to just 29 from Robredo, but he was only 1 for 8 on break points and he had more errors than winners over the final three frames. He gave Robredo few opportunities through the first two sets and kept the ball away from his backhand side, but that all changed in the third set and onwards.