Australian players gained second-round berths and substantial prize money on day two at the US Open, with Kim Birrell, Maya Joint and James Duckworth all advancing in New York.
Birrell survived a dramatic return to Court 7 after a 14-hour rain delay, fending off a match point in the 12th game of the second set before overturning Petra Marcinko 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. She said she woke at 5am nervous about returning to play, forcing herself back to sleep before the match. The 28-year-old admitted the result felt extraordinary, saying, "That's crazy."
The victory guaranteed Birrell $US190,000 ($A265,000), money she said will be saved for her wedding and used to reduce a mortgage. Birrell and coach Matt Fraser are planning a ceremony in Kingscliff, and she added, "Oh my gosh, I don't think I'll be spending it here. I'll definitely save some of it. We're getting married at the end of the year so that helps a lot and maybe I'll buy some extra flowers. And we've got a mortgage. Yeah, the mortgage."
The win ends Birrell's run of first-round exits at Flushing Meadows in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and lifts her 16 places to a career-high world No 55, displacing Talia Gibson as Australia’s new No 1. Birrell faces Russian world No 19 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the next round.
Young Maya Joint rallied from a set down to beat Liudmila Samsonova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, offering a sharp turnaround after a difficult start to the year that included 13 losses in 14 matches. The 20-year-old now has a match scheduled against ninth seed Elina Svitolina.
Veteran James Duckworth produced a comeback to defeat Matteo Arnaldi, the men's 30th seed and a 2026 French Open semi-finalist, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (10-8). Turning 35 in January, Duckworth has now reached the second round at all four grand slams and will play China's Yibing Wu for a place in the last 32.
Not every Australian advanced. Aleksandar Vukic lost a rain-affected five-set match to Rei Sakamoto, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, halting his progress after an epic battle.
Australia’s contingent, already boosted by Taylah Preston's earlier progression, heads into the coming days with rising expectations and tougher draws, as seeded opponents await Birrell, Joint and Duckworth in round two.
