Australia's singles hopes were carried by 28th seed Alexei Popyrin, progressing to the third round where he awaits four-time US Open winner Novak Djokovic.
The 25-year-old dropped six games to enhance his confidence further, breezing past world No.42 Pedro Martínez 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 in one hour and 50 minutes.
Once again, Popyrin's serve and aggressive approach were critical in dictating the flow of the contest, firing 13 aces and recording a healthy 82 per cent win rate on first serves.
“It was hot. I’m just glad I got it done in straight sets. I don’t know if I would have made five sets in this heat. But who knows? I’m glad I didn’t have to find out,” Popyrin said during an on-court interview.
The Sydneysider has met Djokovic two times at Grand Slam level this year, pushing the Serbian to take each match to four sets.
“Honestly, [what I learned from those two matches was] just that I’m able to compete with him,” he said.
“He’s the greatest of all time and one of the best players in the world right now, but I’m able to go toe-to-toe with him, and just in the important points he steps up a little bit, and I just have to expect that if I play him."
The other Aussie male competing in singles action today, Rinky Hijikata, suffered a brutal 1-6, 1-6, 6-7(4) loss at the hands of seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov who was a class above in every aspect.
Considering the Bulgarian defeated Hijikata 6-1, 6-0 at the Montreal Masters three weeks ago, the one-sided result was no surprise.
Further heartbreak eventuated in the women's singles draw from an Australian perspective, as Ajla Tomljanović and Maya Joint were unable to wrestle their respective matches on their terms.
Having qualified for the main draw and picking up her maiden Grand Slam win in the first round, Joint was outpowered by world No.23 and 2017 US Open runner-up Madison Keys, with the result ending 6-4, 6-0 in the Amercian's favour on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Tomljanović, a former US Open quarter-finalist two years ago, failed to break Elise Mertens' serve as she succumbed to a 6-3, 6-2 defeat.
The 31-year-old Aussie also took part in the women's doubles alongside Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova, knocked out in the opening round against Petra Martić and Shelby Rogers 6-0, 5-7, 6-2.
Rising star Olivia Gadecki was also on the losing side of her women's doubles match partnering Wu Fang-Hsien, defeated by Colombia's Camila Osorio and America's Alycia Parks 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-1. Elsewhere, Olympian Ellen Perez and women's doubles partner Nicole Melichar-Martinez are through to round two after a straight sets victory over hometown pairing Mccartney and Sabrina Santamaria to win 6-4, 7-5.
There was positive news in the men's doubles thanks to a splendid performance from Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell, as the seventh seeds took care of business to beat Marcos Giron and Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 7-5.
They await the winner of Andreas Mies and Aussie John-Patrick Smith or singles specialists Sebastian Ofner and Alexandre Müller.
Fresh from achieving a gold medal with doubles partner Matt Ebden at the Paris Olympics, John Peers is forming a deadly partnership with Katerina Siniaková, who recently won Olympic gold in the mixed doubles for the Czech Republic, easily dispatching Rafael Matos and Luisa Stefani 6-2, 6-1.
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