Daniil Medvedev survived a late night US Open scare by taming Australian battler Christopher O'Connell 6-2 6-2 6-7(6) 6-2 to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows.
After strolling to a two-set lead Medvedev had looked headed for routine passage but in the end the third-seeded Russian needed all his resolve to push O'Connell to the exit.
The party atmosphere inside Louis Armstrong Stadium was starkly different from the last time Medvedev and O'Connell stood across from each other during the dark days of Covid-19 restrictions.
That 2020 second-round match, which O'Connell described as "eerie", was played in an empty arena with the exception of the players, their coaches and officials while Thursday's clash was electric, with roars erupting after almost every point.
Medvedev broke to open both the first and second sets and was in complete control until O'Connell tapped into the energy of the crowd that was now squarely in the Australian's corner.
With chants of, "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi" rising from the stands, O'Connell dug in to take the third set to a tiebreak when a shaky Medvedev double-faulted to hand him a well-deserved third set.
But Medvedev did not become the 2021 U.S. Open champion without surviving a few tests and used that experience to regroup, breaking O'Connell to go up 3-1 in the fourth and never letting the Australian back into the set.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz breezed into the third round with another straight-sets win.
This time the victim was Lloyd Harris, who used to train with Alcaraz when the world number one was 15 at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy.
The South African gave Alcaraz a test in the third set but the seemingly unstoppable force still registered a 6-3 6-1 7-6 (4) win.
"I think I played a great match from the beginning until the last ball, but if I have to take something from the match I want to keep the level of the second set," said Alcaraz, 20.
"I had to stay focused, stay strong mentally. It was pretty good for me and to win in straight sets is really important in the first rounds."
He came up with an absolute stinker of a service game, two double-faults and two unforced errors gifting Dimitrov the set and the momentum.
Murray was broken again at the start of the second and his shoulders slumped even further when his solitary chance to break back drifted wide.
The constant chuntering to his team was getting less and less cordial and, at 4-1 down in the third, he gestured to them that the match was over as a contest.
The two-time Wimbledon champion was proved to be right two games later as another attempt to challenge at a grand slam fell well short.
John Isner’s professional singles career came to an end after a 3-6 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 7-6 (10-7) loss to fellow American Michael Mmoh.
Jack Draper has made the third round at the US Open for the second consecutive year.
The 21-year-old British player got through after an impressive 6-2 6-4 7-5 win over Hubert Hurkacz, the 17th seed from Poland.
It was the fifth best win of the youngster’s career by ranking.
Italian Matteo Berrettini, a former semi-finalist, exited after retiring when trailing 6-4 5-3 to France's Arthur Rinderknech.
