Alex de Minaur needed four sets and withstood a late challenge to settle the matter in the opening round of the US Open on a shocking day for the Australians that saw Thanasi Kokkinakis among the numerous losers.
Chris O'Connell was the only other winner, but in the pair's all-Australia showdown he defeated his compatriot Max Purcell as one of four Australians to lose their opening duels, while two others, Jason Kubler and Jordan Thompson, were both out with leg injuries and put in theirs openings a.
According to the results, de Minaur, O'Connell and Rinky Hijikata are the only men to advance to the second round alongside Daria Saville and Ajla Tomljanovic after their victories on Tuesday.
Seeded 13th, de Minaur struggled to knock out Kazakh qualifier Timofey Skatov. He lost the second set and missed a chance to end the game in the fourth set before securing a 6-2 3-6 6-1 7-1. 5 win.
Earlier, O'Connell had upset Purcell, who was ranked higher at world No. 43, and set up a second-round shot at third-seeded ex- Champion Daniil Medvedev. 6 (7-5) win in just under three hours.
“Unfortunately, I pulled Max, but at the same time there will be an Australian who goes through to the second round and that's always a positive,” he said.
After his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals in Cincinnati ahead of the US Open, O'Connell was looking forward to the upcoming clash with former champion Medvedev after leading him to three sets in the last game.
“I feel like I have a good style of play to maybe cause trouble for him. It was very close in Doha,” he said.
“I'm sure he has a good idea of what I'll bring in and I'll play similar to what I did in Doha.
“But he's an absolute top player, so I'm sure he's probably going to change a bit since that game.”
In the other games, Aleksandar Vukic was beaten 6: 4, 6: 4, 6: 4 by German number 12 Alexander Zverev, while James Duckworth, who entered the main round late, 6: 4, 7: 6 (13:11 ) lost ) 6:3 against the Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alvez.
Kokkinakis suffered a surprise 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 loss to Taiwan's world No. 237 Yu Hsiou Tsu, while Kubler and Thompson were both sidelined with leg injuries.
US OPEN RESULTS
Chris O'Connell (AUS)d Max Purcell (AUS) 6-4 6-3 3-6 7-6(5)
[12] Alexander Zverev (GER) d Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) 6-4 6-4 6-4Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) lost to Jason Kubler (AUS) 6:3, 3:0.
Botic van de Zandschulp (NED) d Jordan Thompson (AUS) 6-3 eliminated.
[Q] Hsu Yu-Hsiou (TPE) vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 [Q] Felipe Meligeni Alves (BRA) vs James Duckworth (AUS) 6-4 7-6(11) 6-3
