Kyle Edmund is the last Briton standing in the US Open singles, but is relishing the prospect of continuing to fly the flag with Canadian Denis Shapovalov lying in wait in the third round.
The 22-year-old from Yorkshire eased past home favourite Steve Johnson in straight sets at Flushing Meadows, winning 7-5 6-2 7-6 in two hours and 17 minutes.
It is the second time in as many years Edmund has reached the last 32 at the US Open – in 2016 he exited the competition to number one seed and eventual runner-up Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.
And he already has some history with 18-year-old Shapovalov, who has surged up the rankings to number 69 this year, after the Canadian was defaulted in their Davis Cup clash in February after an incident with the umpire.
Edmund had the measure of American Johnson throughout, having already beaten him last week on his run to the semi-finals at the ATP Winston-Salem Open, and did not show any signs of fatigue despite playing his ninth match in twelve days.
“I did what I needed to do, tactics and controlling the match,” said Edmund, the highest-ranked British player in the US Open draw this week with Andy Murray withdrawing through injury.
“I always felt in control. The third set was big, because those key points change matches. I was very happy to close it out in three.
“Steve's a unique player. Every shot is to set him up for the forehand, and he gives you no pace on the backhand.
“I've gained more maturity and experience since losing to him two years ago at the Australian Open. It was a level up then and he crushed me, physically. It was a big learning curve for me.”
Meanwhile it was not such good news for Cameron Norrie and Aljaz Bedene, who went down to Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta and Russia's Andrey Rublev respectively.
After coming through three rounds of qualifying at a Grand Slam at the first time of asking already, 22-year-old Scot Norrie – who will now return to the Challenger Tour – could consider it a successful week in New York.
But he could not hide his frustration to go down in straight sets (6-2 6-4 6-3), particularly after losing six of seven break points and surrendering the third set having been a break to the good.
“It's just been a great experience,” he said. “I'm proud of myself but a little bit disappointed.
”I think I’m ready now but I just need to play these matches more. I think I belong here and I can play at this level.
“I can take a lot of confidence from that and I can compete with these guys.” Sportsbeat 2017