Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina defy Australian exodus to reach US Open third round.

Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina have expressed relief for different reasons after saving Australia’s blushes with contrasting second-round US Open victories in New York.

As Alexei Popyrin, Adam Walton, Tristan Schoolkate and Maya Joint all crashed out, De Minaur hit the go button in a straight-sets victory over Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki.

De Minaur did not have it all his own way, staving off 11 break points in the opening set before seizing control for a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory.

The eighth seed and two-time quarter-finalist was pleased to have got the job done as rain closed in on Flushing Meadows.

“The result was straightforward, but it felt like quite a complicated match,” De Minaur said.

“I had to navigate a tricky opponent who played some very good tennis at times and I just had to do my best to weather the storm and use my experience and back my level over the long run.”

In a bonus for De Minaur, his rival Stefanos Tsitsipas bombed out, opening up the world No 8’s draw.

Instead of facing a player he’s lost to 11 out of 12 times, De Minaur will instead play world No 56 Daniel Altmaier for a place in the last 16 after the German ousted Tsitsipas in five sets.

While De Minaur showcased his class and electric court speed, Kasatkina had to overcome painful cramping and a dogged opponent to also avoid the Australian exodus on day five.

Kasatkina battled back from a service break down in the deciding set to live up to her 15th seeding and deny friend and former compatriot Kamilla Rakhimova a memorable 24th birthday in a two-hour, 22-minute epic at Flushing Meadows.

Kasatkina was chuffed at joining de Minaur and Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon in the last 32 with a fighting 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 comeback victory.

“When I was 4-1 down, I was just like, oh my God. I also started cramping,” the world No 18 said. “I don’t know actually how I was able to come back and win.

“My finger was cramping. My quad was cramping. I was just running on the court trying to finish as quickly as possible.

“I’m really happy with my effort today because even though I was not playing my best tennis, I was still able to get this win.”

Playing her third grand slam since switching allegiances in March, the Russian-born star looked on track for a cruisy win when leading by a set and a break.

But Kasatkina took her foot off the pedal and world No 65 Rakhimova pounced, reeling off five straight games to level the match and take control of the deciding set