Dan Evans and Emma Raducanu are the only remaining British hopes at the US Open after Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Katie Boulter fell at the first hurdle.
Evans Equals Best US Open Run
British number one Dan Evans equalled his best-ever run at the competition on Wednesday when beating American Marcos Giron 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3.
The second-round tie was interrupted on two occasions by rain but Evans held his nerve to come through the encounter and set up a third-round clash with Alexei Popyrin.
Australia’s Popyrin was leading 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7- 4) 4-0 before Grigor Dimitrov had to retire due to a foot injury on Wednesday.
Evans was a straight sets victor in his only previous meeting with Popyrin when they squared off in the build-up to Wimbledon earlier this summer.
He is the final British hope in the men’s singles draw after Murray and Norrie lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas and Ugo Humbert respectively in the first round.
The Brit is available at 5/8 to seal a third victory in the Big Apple, while Popyrin can be backed at 27/20.
Rising Raducanu Back in Action
Raducanu shot to prominence at Wimbledon over the summer, reaching the fourth round, and she is eyeing another deep run at the US Open.
After dispatching of Stefanie Vogele in the first round, the 18-year-old goes up against world number 49 Zhang Shuai on Thursday.
Zhang won comfortably 6-3 6-2 when the pair met on the hard courts of San Jose last month and she will be eager to follow that up at Flushing Meadows.
Despite that defeat, Raducanu is the 20/29 favourite going into Thursday’s match, with Zhang available at 6/5.
Raducanu is the last remaining British woman in the competition after compatriots Watson, Dart and Boulter went out in the opening round.
Tsitsipas Continues to Court Controversy
Tsitsipas, priced at 10/1 to win the US Open, was criticised by Murray when they met in the first round after taking a lengthy toilet break, with the Scot claiming he “lost respect” for his opponent.
Murray’s words don’t appear to have had much of an impact as the Greek third seed departed for another eight-minute break during his second-round tie with Adrian Mannarino on Wednesday.
He returned to the court to jeers from the US Open crowds before going on to secure a 6-3 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-0 win, while also hitting a career-high 27 aces.
Tsitsipas, who made it through to the final at the French Open earlier this year, takes on Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz is round three.
The Greek can be backed at 4/19 to extend his run in New York, while Alcaraz is priced at 17/5.
*All odds correct at time of writing.