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A genuinely strong day for Australian tennis at Flushing Meadows. Two men made it through, with Alexei Popyrin and James Duckworth advancing to round two.
The women’s draw delivered its best US Open result in years, with Maya Joint and Kimberly Birrell both winning three-set matches.
Men’s Singles
- Adam Walton lost to Yibing Wu (CHN) 7-6(2), 6-2, 7-5. Walton pushed Wu to a first-set tiebreak but couldn’t sustain it. Wu is in ominous form — Duckworth now has a tough round-two assignment against him.
- Aleksandar Vukic lost to (Q) Rei Sakamoto (JPN) 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a five-set dogfight. The Japanese qualifier lifted at the right moments and Vukic ran out of legs in the decider.
- James Duckworth upset (30) Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(8). Dropping the first set didn’t faze the veteran — Duckworth took control from the baseline and closed it out in a fourth-set tiebreak to knock out the 30th seed. Rd 2 vs Yibing Wu.
- Rinky Hijikata lost to (3) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Hijikata let a golden opportunity slip early, failing to serve out the first set at 5-4. Auger-Aliassime punished him for it, broke again to take the opener, and rode that momentum through four sets. A tough result, but Hijikata pushed the third seed hard across four sets and showed he’s ready for this level.
- Alexei Popyrin beat (Q) Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Dropping the first set did little more than annoy Popyrin. He broke Dimitrov’s rhythm, started finding his first-strike game, and wore the qualifier down across the next three. Rd 2 vs (25) Alejandro Tabilo (CHI).
Women’s Singles
A genuinely strong day for the Australian women, both winners now facing seeded players in round two:
- Maya Joint beat Liudmila Samsonova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, recovering from a slow start to win 12 of the next 16 games. The teenager keeps backing up the hype. Rd 2 vs (9) Elina Svitolina (UKR).
- Kimberly Birrell beat Petra Marcinko (CRO) 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 — another three-set win, another Australian woman through. Rd 2 vs (18) Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Day 2 Verdict
Five Australians through to round two — Popyrin, Duckworth, Joint, Birrell, and a depth of competition the women’s draw hasn’t seen in years.
The next test is heavy: Joint and Birrell both draw seeded opposition, Duckworth meets a surging Yibing Wu, and Popyrin faces 25th seed Tabilo.
Day 3 will tell us where this Aussie US Open run really goes with de Minaur to face Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri. Also taking to the court will be Thanasi Kokkinakis, Tristan Schoolkate, Dane Sweeny and Daria Kasatkina.