Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise most of Australia’s men’s singles players took the court in the very early hours of the morning (AEST) on day two of the US Open.
Because apart from Chris O’Connell’s four-set win over countryman Max Purcell, there wasn’t much to write home about.
Jason Kubler was forced to retire from his match Matteo Arnaldi after just 10 games with a knee injury.
The 6-3 1-0 walkover was one of a string of disappointing results as James Duckworth couldn’t take a set off 168th-ranked Brazilian Felipe Alves and Aleksandar Vukic failed to trouble Alexander Zverev.
The most dramatic moments early on Day 2 came as the controversy surrounding Coco Gauff’s explosive win over Laura Siegemund continued to swirl.
The 35-year-old qualifier from Germany gave American hopeful Gauff a huge scare on opening night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The match took almost three hours due to Siegemund’s slow pace of play.
The crowd began to get on the German star’s back about how long she was taking.
And Gauff, 19, also grew frustrated at the slow play from her opponent in the first round clash.
Spectators were seen booing Siegemund during long breaks in between serves and called, “Time!” as she prepared to serve.
They were also seen motioning to pretend watches on their wrists.
Siegemund complained to the umpire, but the booing continued.
She was in tears when speaking to journalists in her post-match press conference.
After her loss, Siegemund said: “I am very, very disappointed with the way the people treated me today. They had no respect for me.
“They treated me like I was a bad person. This is something that I have to say hurts really bad.”
She went on to say: “They treated me bad. They treated me like I’m a cheater. Like OI was trying sneaky ways to win this match.”
She said addressing the incident was the “first time” she had cried during a post match press conference.
Siegemund added that she is contemplating not returning to the tournament.
“I mean, I would only come back because this is a Slam,” she said after the defeat.
“But for sure, not for the people, to give them a show. If they are like this, they don’t deserve a show.”
Elsewhere, third seed Daniil Medvedev raced into the second round 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 now play O’Connell for a spot in the last 32.
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.
“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.”
In the women’s draw, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur overcame a medical scare to battle past 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.
Women’s third seed Jessica Pegula also strolled into the second round, brushing aside Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-2.
Early Day Two Results
Men — Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) bt Jason Kubler (AUS) 6-3, 3-0 – retired
Cameron Norrie (GBR x16) d Alexander Shevchenko (RUS) 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
Alexander Zverev (GER x12) d Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Daniil Medvedev (RUS x3) d Attila Balazs (HUN) 6-1, 6-1, 6-0
Christopher O’Connell (AUS) d Max Purcell (AUS) 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5)
Felipe Meligeni Alves (BRA) d James Duckworth (AUS) 6-4, 7-6 (13/11), 6-3
Nicolas Jarry (CHI x23) d Luca Van Assche (FRA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3)
Alex Michelsen (USA) bt Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
Michael Mmoh (USA) d Karen Khachanov (RUS x11) 6-2, 6-4, 6-2
Matteo Berrettini (ITA) d Ugo Humbert (FRA x29) 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) d Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Women — Wang Yafan (CHN) d Caroline Garcia (FRA x7) 6-4, 6-1
Katie Boulter (GBR) d Diane Parry (FRA) 6-4, 6-0
Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS x22) d Leylah Fernandez (CAN) 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-4
Marketa Vondrousova (CZE x9) d Na-Lae Han (KOR) 6-3, 6-0
Liudmila Samsonova (RUS x14) d Claire Liu (USA) 7-6 (7/3), 6-3
Tamara Korpatsch (GER) d Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) 6-3, 6-2
Madison Keys (USA x17) d Arantxa Rus (NED) 6-2, 6-4
Ons Jabeur (TUN x5) d Camila Osorio (COL) 7-5, 7-6 (7/4)
Linda Noskova (CZE) d Madison Brengle (USA) 6-2, 6-1
Petra Martic (CRO) d Tatjana Maria (GER) 6-2, 6-1
Marie Bouzkova (CZE x31) d Ashlyn Krueger (USA) 7-5, 6-4
– with AFP
