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Australian support acts Jordan Thompson and Ajla Tomljanovic have joined world No.1 Ash Barty in the US Open second round at Flushing Meadows.
Revelling on the slick surface, support acts Ajla Tomljanovic and Jordan Thompson joined Australian world No.1 Ash Barty in the second round of the US Open as former champion Samantha Stosur crashed out in New York.
Sky-high in confidence after reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals, Tomljanovic needed barely an hour to take down American teenage wildcard Katie Volynets 6-1 6-3 before Thompson ground out a 4-6 6-3 7-5 2-6 7-6 (7-3) victory over Italian Gianluca Mager.
Barty earlier on day two began her bid for back-to-back grand slam titles with a 6-1 7-6 (9-7) win over former Open runner-up Vera Zvonareva.
The top-seeded Wimbledon champion plays Danish teenager Clara Tauson next on Friday.
Tomljanovic will face Czech Petra Martic after continuing her breakout grand-slam season with a dominant serving display.
The world No.43 struck four aces, won 89 per cent of first-serve points and didn't give up a single break point in the 63-minute mismatch.
Thompson's triumph was the polar opposite of Tomljanovic's cakewalk.
Returning to the scene of his best grand slam result, Thompson toiled for three and a half hours before finally clinching victory in a fifth-set tiebreaker.
"It was an incredibly tough match," he said.
"He served well, particularly in the fifth set.
"I felt like I had the majority of look-ins on his serve. If he made his first serve, the percentage was pretty high of him winning the points.
"But luckily in the tiebreaker we both get to serve. That match could have gone either way."
The Sydneysider made the last 16 at Flushing Meadows last year and will likely need to reprise that form next up when he faces 2021 Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev, the 21st seed.
"At one point of the year, he was probably the most in-form player apart from Novak," Thompson said.
Davis Cup teammate Alex de Minaur was unable to follow Thompson and Alexei Popyrin - a day-one winner over Radu Albot - into the second round.
Struggling physically from a recent bout of COVID-19 that forced his withdrawal from the Olympics, 14th seed de Minaur went down to 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 1-6 6-4 to American Taylor Fritz.
In-form wildcard Max Purcell, who beat Thompson last week en route to the last 16 at Winstom-Salem, took the fight to Jannik Sinner before succumbing 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2 to Italy's 13th seed.
Stosur's 16th - and potentially last - Open singles tilt lasted but 70 minutes.
A decade after trouncing Serena Williams in the final, 37-year-old Stosur, now a mother ranked 186th in the world, won just three games in a 6-3 6-0 first-round loss to Estonian Anett Kontaveit.
"If that's my last singles match, then that's the way it is," Stosur said.
Wildcard Storm Sanders also bowed out with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 loss to Misaki Doi.
HOW THE AUSSIES FARED ON DAY TWO OF THE US OPEN (PREFIX DENOTES SEEDING):
Women's singles, first round
1-Ash Barty bt Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 6-1 7-6 (9-7)
Ajla Tomljanovic bt Katie Volynets (USA) 6-1 6-3
Sam Stosur lost to 28-Anett Kontaveit (EST) 6-3 6-0
Storm Sanders lost to Misaki Doi (JPN) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3
Men's singles, first round
Jordan Thompson bt Gianluca Mager (ITA) 4-6 6-3 7-5 2-6 7-6 (7-3)
Max Purcell lost to 13-Jannik Sinner (ITA) 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2
14-Alex de Minaur lost to Taylor Fritz (USA) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 1-6 6-4
AUSSIES IN ACTION ON THURSDAY (AEST):
Men's singles, second round
Alexei Popyrin v 15-Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) - 1am.
