Four Australian stars have been sent packing from the US Open in a brutal start to Day Two.
James Duckworth, Jason Kubler, Aleksandar Vukic and Max Purcell’s time in Flushing Meadows came to an end after defeats in the first round.
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Christopher O’Connell, who played Purcell, was the only Aussie to advance from the early matches with a 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) win over his fellow countryman.
Kubler had to withdraw from his clash against Matteo Arnaldi after just 10 games due to a knee injury.
Duckworth failed to take a set off Brazilian qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves while Vukic battled hard against No. 12 seed Alexander Zverev.
Thanasi Kokkinakis, Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur are also in action as they look to avoid first-round exits.
Elsewhere at the US Open, third seed Daniil Medvedev raced into the US Open second round on Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Hungary’s Attila Balazs.
Medvedev, the 2021 champion in New York, pumped 41 winners past the unranked journeyman Balazs in a one-sided encounter lasting 74 minutes.
The Russian will play O’Connell for a spot in the last 32.
“It’s always good to start well. I’m happy with my performance,” said Medvedev.
The world number three, who was also runner-up to Rafael Nadal here in 2019, said he was happy to slide under the radar with much of the spotlight fixed on Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
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“I don’t care. It’s normal that Carlos and Novak are the biggest names right now,” said Medvedev.
“My goal is to try to play well to get to wherever they are and try to win.”
Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur overcame a medical scare to battle into the second round of the US Open on Tuesday with a straight sets defeat of Colombia’s Camila Osorio.
Jabeur, chasing a first Grand Slam crown after three agonising defeats in finals since 2022, opened her US Open campaign with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) victory on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The 29-year-old looked to be struggling during a tense first set, complaining to the chair umpire that she was having difficulty breathing after Osorio fought back from 4-1 down to level at 4-4.
Jabeur needed treatment from medical staff after going 5-4 down in the first set, and appeared to have her blood pressure taken during a time-out.
She then rallied to take the first set and appeared to poised to clinch victory after holding two match points in the second set while 5-3 up.
However Osorio rallied to stave off defeat, and went on to level at 5-5 after breaking Jabeur.
Jabeur broke back immediately to take a 6-5 lead but was then broken once again to send the second set to a tie break.
Jabeur proved too strong for Osorio in the breaker, however, and will now face the Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova in the second round.
AUSSIES IN ACTION – DAY TWO
Men’s singles, first round
[LL] James Duckworth (AUS) def by [Q] Felipe Meligeni Alves (BRA) 6-4, 7-6 (13-11), 6-3
Jason Kubler (AUS) def by Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) 6-3, 1-0 (walkover)
Max Purcell (AUS) def by Chris O’Connell (AUS) 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)
Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) def by [12] Alexander Zverev (GER) 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) v [Q] Hsu Yu-Hsiou (TPE), Court 9, second match
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Botic van de Zandschulp (NED), Court 8, third match
[13] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [Q] Timofey Skatov (KAZ), Court 11, fourth match
FULL SCORE CENTRE: Every US Open match
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