Bruin sophomore downs Poland's Jerzy Janowicz in U.S. Open first round.

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Flushing, N.Y. - UCLA sophomore men's tennis player Dennis Novikov made the most of his wild card entry into this year's U.S. Open Championships on Tuesday, stunning the world's 86th-ranked player to advance to the second round of his first-ever Grand Slam tournament.

Playing on court No. 10 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Novikov, from San Jose, Calif., downed Poland's Jerzy Janowicz, 6-2 7-6(6) 3-6 6-3 on Tuesday. Next up is a second-round showdown against Julien Benneteau of France, who was a 7-6(1), 6-2, 6-3 winner over Belguim's Olivier Rochus in Tuesday's opening round. That match will likely be on Thursday.

Novikov is also in the doubles draw in New York, teaming with Michael Redlicki. They will take on Bobby Reynolds and Michael Russell on Wednesday (3rd match on court No. 6).