American hope Gauff, the sixth seed, was left frazzled by qualifier Laura Siegemund’s incredible anticipation and volleying in the first set.
But the match swung after an epic 26-minute first game of the second set, a minute longer than Iga Swiatek had taken to win her first set against Rebecca Peterson.
In front of the watching former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, Gauff went toe-to-toe with the German at the net and finally converted a break point at the eighth attempt.
The pair slugged it out with some stunning rallies, firing volley after volley at each other in a match more akin to doubles than singles.
A niggly encounter boiled over when Gauff, tiring of the type of delaying tactics from Siegemund which would have had Premier League referees’ chief Howard Webb in a lather, raged at chair umpire Marijana Veljovic.
The youngster could barely contain her delight when Veljovic deducted Siegemund a point for not being ready to receive, giving Gauff a 5-1 lead in the decider.
“Slow!” was Gauff’s verdict on the match after closing out a 3-6 6-2 6-4 victory in two hours and 51 minutes.
“I mean it was a tough match,” she added. “I wasn’t playing my best tennis and Laura fights to the end. I managed to overcome some adversity so I’m happy to get through.”
Gauff will play another teenager, 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva, in round two.
World number one Swiatek had earlier helped herself to a New York bagel to get her title defence off to the perfect start.
The 22-year-old from Poland dropped just eight points as she took the first set to love against Rebecca Peterson.
Sweden’s Peterson did get on the board early in the second but Swiatek, bidding for a fifth grand-slam title, completed a comprehensive 6-0 6-1 victory in just 58 minutes.
“I really wanted to play solid and start the tournament with everything I practised on,” she said.
“I’m happy to play such a great game and despite all the pressure and expectation I can still have fun on the court.”
There was an upset on day one at Flushing Meadows with eighth seed Maria Sakkari from Greece bowing out 6-4 6-4 to Spanish world number 71 Rebeka Masarova.
Fourth seed Elena Rybakina, last year’s Wimbledon champion, had no such trouble, dispatching Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-1.
Victoria Azarenka, a three-time finalist, beat Fiona Ferro 6-1 6-2 and Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova sank Storm Hunter of Australia 6-4 6-0.
Andy Murray bowed out of the US Open, but it was still a successful day for British tennis.
Jack Draper, Katie Boulter, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans all kept the flag flying into the third round, although Jodie Burrage came up short against second seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beat Lloyd Harris in straight sets and he will face Evans next.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at day four at Flushing Meadows.
Pic of the dayShot of the day
No contest.
Brit watch
Murray was desperately disappointed with how he played as he went down in straight sets to a familiar rival, Grigor Dimitrov. It was a 12th meeting of the pair and the Bulgarian 19th seed picked up his fourth win.
Norrie was a straight-sets winner against Hsu Yu-hsiou of Chinese Taipei and Evans came from a set down to beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in four.
Propably most impressive was Draper, who dispatched 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-2 6-4 7-5.
Lucky escape
Boulter was relieved to avoid being defaulted after inadvertently hitting a ball towards spectators during her win over Wang Yafan.
The British number one had just lost a 20-shot rally in the first set when a ball kid threw her the ball and she swatted it away, accidentally sending it spinning into a gangway in front of the crowd.
Had the ball hit a spectator Boulter would have been disqualified, but the chair umpire merely issued a code violation for ball abuse.
Boulter went on to complete a 5-7 6-1 6-4 victory and will play American Peyton Stearns in round three.
Stat of the dayNo boos
The USTA put an announcement on the big screen explaining there would be no handshake between Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova due to ‘global events’. It had the desired effect as there was no booing of either player, unlike at Wimbledon when Victoria Azarenka got it in the neck.
Fallen seeds:
Hubert Hurkacz (17)
Who’s up next?
Novak Djokovic continues his bid for a record-equalling 24th grand slam title against fellow Serbian Laslo Djere.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek faces her good friend, Slovakian qualifier Kaja Juvan.
The world number one and defending US Open champion thrashed Slovakian qualifier Juvan 6-0 6-1 to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
The pair had been out for a meal in New York just last week, and Swiatek spoke of their enduring friendship on the WTA Tour before the match.
But with friends like Swiatek, who needs enemies? The Pole surrendered just eight points as she raced away with the first set to love in only 33 minutes.
Juvan did at least avoid the dreaded ‘double-bagel’, finally getting a game on the board 40 minutes into the match for 3-1 in the second and raising her arms aloft in mock triumph to the acclaim of the Louis Armstrong crowd.
But it was only delaying the inevitable, with Swiatek wrapping up another clinical, statement victory – she beat Rebecca Peterson by the same scoreline in the first round – in well under an hour.
“I didn’t like that I was winning with my best friend but I knew I had to be focused and not think about that,” said the 22-year-old.
“It’s like playing your sister. I don’t have many friends and she’s my best friend so that was the toughest, for sure.”
Britain’s Salisbury and American Ram are looking for an unprecedented third consecutive men’s doubles crown at Flushing Meadows.
Their 7-5 3-6 6-3 win, in two-and-a-quarter hours, was a 17th successive victory in New York for the pair.
The first set went with serve until 5-5 when three backhand returns from Salisbury brought up three break points.
Croatian Dodig continued serving to the Salisbury backhand, and regretted it when he hit a clean winner to put the third seeds in control.
Salisbury served out the set to love, clinching it with an overhead down the ‘T’.
But the Salisbury serve was broken late in the second set as Dodig and American Krajicek levelled the match.
A forehand down the line from Ram secured the crucial break at the start of the decider, and Ram finished the job with an unreturnable serve on match point.
Salisbury said: “We knew it would be a really tough match and that it might go all the way.
“They raised their level but we knew we would keep going and compete. Raj played amazing in that third set and we’re happy to be in the final.
“It’s pretty amazing. We didn’t think we’d be here but there’s something about this place which seems to bring the best out of us.”
A tearful Ram, at his home grand slam, said: “It’s been a tough year for us and to play this level, stick together like we did, and beat the best team this year, I thought we did great and I’m just proud of our performance.”
Ram snacked on some sushi in between the second and third sets and it seemed to do the trick.
“It was so hot earlier I couldn’t eat as much as I wanted so I got my boy to go and get me some sushi and it helped, I think,” he added.
Salisbury and Ram will face India’s Rohan Bopanna and Australian Matthew Ebden in Friday’s final.
There was disappointment for rising British star Hannah Klugman in the juniors event.
The 14-year-old needed a medical time-out after the first set in her quarter-final against Laura Samsonova and eventually retired at 6-0 3-0 down.
She later withdrew from the doubles, in which she was due to play with Mimi Xu, on another day of 35C-plus temperatures at Flushing Meadows.
The 27-year-old came through three matches to qualify at Flushing Meadows for the first time and then picked up a maiden grand slam win against Margarita Betova in round one.
But the world number 198 found 15th seed Bencic, of Switzerland, too tough a nut to crack as she bowed out 6-3 6-3.
Miyazaki still leaves New York with the consolation prize of having virtually doubled her earnings for the year with a £98,000 pay day for winning her first-round match.
A break early in the first set and two in the second set proved her undoing, although she did break the Bencic serve late on, prompting the 26-year-old to fling her racket to the ground.
But ultimately Bencic, a former semi-finalist, was too strong for the Tokyo-born debutant and broke again to seal the victory.
Miyazaki was supported once more by fellow Brit Jodie Burrage, who faces world number two Aryna Sabalenka in her second-round match on Thursday.
Burrage, who beat Anna Blinkova in straight sets on Tuesday night, said: “It’s a massive match. Probably one of the biggest ones I would have played in my career.
“But I’ll go out there and enjoy it like I always do. I’ll take the confidence from the matches I played this week and the last few weeks and months. Like everything, it’s lessons I’ve been learning from.”
Burrage feels her run here and to the second round at Wimbledon have earned her the respect of her peers in the locker room.
“I hope so. I hope that’s the reputation I’m getting,” she added.
“A few more of the girls, I start hitting with them, then you know them a little bit more. In the locker room, as well, it really is a place where you can chat to people and get to know people a little bit more.
“I’ve been speaking to Jessie Pegula a little bit because she’s in my bit of the locker room. Mostly we’re talking about the adidas outfit, what we’re wearing. Those little things start the conversations.
“But, yeah, hopefully they are building respect for me and finding who I am out as a player – hopefully not too soon because I think that surprise is helping me at the moment.”
British number one Katie Boulter has a big chance to move into the third round as she takes on Chinese world number 114 Wang Yafan.
The 36-year-old Serbian, who missed last year’s tournament due to not being vaccinated against Covid, swept past France’s Alexandre Muller 6-0 6-2 6-3.
Flushing Meadows hosted a tribute to former former champion and equality campaigner Billie Jean King, celebrating 50 years since the US Open offered equal prize money to men and women with Michelle Obama making a speech, before Djokovic took to the court at 11pm local time.
He said: “Well, I knew it was going to be a late night for me, a late start of the match.
“Nevertheless, I was excited to go out on the court. I didn’t care if I started after midnight because I was looking forward to this moment for few years, to be out on the biggest stadium in our sport, the loudest stadium in our sport, playing night session.
“It was a special night, they had a ceremony. It took longer than I would probably have wanted but was a great joy to be stepping out on the court.
“I think the performance explains how I felt, particularly in the first two sets. It was kind of lights-out tennis really, almost flawless, perfect first set.
“I probably had the answer for every shot he had in his book. Overall I’m very, very pleased with the way I feel, with the way I’m playing. Hopefully I can maintain that level. It’s just the beginning of the tournament, but I already like the level of tennis.”
Djokovic will replace reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the rankings following the US Open. It will be the seventh time the number one spot has changed hands this year.
Britain’s Lily Miyazaki made a mark on her Flushing Meadows debut to reach round two.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at day one at the US Open.
Pic of the day
Former first lady Michelle Obama joined a ceremony to honour former champion and equality campaigner Billie Jean King, and celebrate 50 years since the US Open offered equal prize money to men and women.
Match of the day
Coco Gauff came from a set down in a thriller under the lights on Arthur Ashe against German qualifier Laura Siegemund. The American teenager, seeded sixth, eventually came through 3-6 6-2 6-4.
Shock of the day
Holger Rune tweeted a map of the Flushing Meadows site to highlight his frustration at being shoved out on Court Five. The Danish fourth seed’s irritation was clear as he slumped to a four-set defeat to Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena.
Stench of the day
It’s a hard court, not grass, but eighth seed Maria Sakkari complained to the umpire about the smell of “weed” wafting through the air during her surprise defeat by Rebeka Masarova.
Brit watch
Lily Miyazaki branded her US Open debut “surreal” after winning her first match at a grand slam.
There were echoes of Emma Raducanu after the 27-year-old qualifier, Britain’s sole representative on day one, beat Russian Margarita Betova 6-3 6-3.
“It’s huge for me, I think,” said Miyazaki. “Qualifying was also, like, obviously a huge confidence booster, but winning at the main draw, it just feels a bit surreal.”
The world number 199 may be unlikely to emulate Raducanu’s fairy-tale title win two years ago, but she still secured a near-£100,000 pay day and a high-profile second-round match against Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.
Fallen seeds
Women: Maria Sakkari (8), Veronika Kudermetova (16), Anhalina Kalinina (28), Elisabetta Cocciaretto (29).
Men: Holger Rune (4), Felix Auger-Aliassime (15), Lorenzo Musetti (18), Alexander Bublik (25), Sebastian Korda (31).
Who’s up next?
Day two sees the other six British hopefuls begin their campaigns. Former champion Andy Murray will be on the Grandstand Court against Frenchman Corentin Moutet. Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Jack Draper, Jodie Burrage and Katie Boulter are also in action along with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Swiatek, who won the title in New York in 2022, made just six unforced errors as she triumphed 6-0 6-1 against her Japanese opponent.
A dominant opening service game set the tone for the encounter, with the world number one racing into a 4-0 lead in double quick time before closing out the first set.
Shibahara, however, would get her first and only game on the board early in the second, but had to do so by saving three break points to hold her serve.
From then on, Swiatek took control, dropping just four points in the final three games to comfortably progress to the next round without breaking a sweat.
Swiatek will face the winner of Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's encounter for a place in the quarter-finals of the competition on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Super Swiatek rolls on
Swiatek is the fifth player in the Open Era to reach the round of 32 in 19 consecutive women’s singles grand slam tournaments, after Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez.
The Pole is also the youngest player to win 20 of her first 22 second round appearances in women’s singles grand slam since Victoria Azarenka in 2012, who won 21 of her first 22 second round appearances.
Pegula is the oldest American woman in the Open Era to reach her first major final, where she will play Aryna Sabalenka, but she had to do it the hard way in a 1-6 6-4 6-2 in two hours and 13 minutes.
The 30-year-old won her first service game, but Muchova's strength pushed her through the rest of the first set.
Pegula then found herself 2-0 down in the second but dug deep to go on a four-match winning streak and force a decider.
After that, Muchova had no way back, as Pegula got two more breaks in the final set, and she admitted that even she was surprised by the comeback.
"I came out flat, but she was playing unbelievable, she made me look like a beginner," Pegula said.
"I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing, she was destroying me.
"I don't know how I turned that around, honestly."
Data Debrief: Pegula's wait is over
It is the second year in a row that an American will play in the women's singles final, with Pegula following Coco Gauff, who won the tournament last time around.
However, by defeating Muchova at the age of 30 years and 193 days, Pegula became the oldest American in the Open Era to reach a maiden grand slam final.
She is also just the third player in the Open Era to win a women's singles semi-final at the US Open after losing the first set 6-1, after Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004) and Victoria Azarenka (2020) – excluding retirements.
The Belarusian beat one of the home favourites Emma Navarro in straight sets on Thursday, needing a tie-break to edge past the in-form American.
Sabalenka, who finished as runner-up to Coco Gauff in the tournament last year, won 6-3 7-6 (7-2) in just over 90 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
After a relatively comfortable first set, Sabalenka looked to be cruising in the second too, until Navarro clawed her way in front after being 5-3 down.
However, the number two seed soon regained her footing to win the tie-break, and she credits the work she has put in on her mindset as the game changer.
"I worked really hard on my mindset on the match," Sabalenka said afterwards. "I think I made really huge improvement on that calmness, on those crucial moments.
"Even if things are not working well for me, I still keep doing the right things, and I'm staying in control. I'm really proud, I'm actually really proud of myself that I was able to get to the point when I'm in control of my emotions."
Data Debrief: Back-to-back
Sabalenka has dropped just one set throughout the US Open this year, and has put herself in the best position to win the competition for the first time.
The 26-year-old is the first woman to reach back-to-back US Open finals since Serena Williams in 2018 and 2019. She has now reached all four hard court grand slam finals in the last two years.
Since the Australian Open's switch from grass in 1988, Sabalenka is just the fifth player to reach the women's singles final at the Australian and US Open in consecutive seasons after Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and Victoria Azarenka.
Sinner, who is aiming to secure a second grand slam of 2024, needed just an hour and 39 minutes to dispatch his American opponent, emerging a 6-4 6-0 6-2 victor.
The world number one navigated a difficult opening set, seeing his opening game break evaporate immediately before a break point in the ninth game gave him the early advantage.
Sinner would showcase his class in the second, dropping 11 points throughout the entirety of the set to go within touching distance of advancing to the third round.
Michelsen would match his opponent for the opening games of the third set, but a break in the fifth game proved decisive, with Sinner able to cruise to victory from then on.
The Italian's triumph set up a meeting with Australian Christopher O'Connell after overcoming a scare against Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci in four sets.
Data Debrief: The Italian job
Sinner's triumph over Michelsen saw him achieve consecutive 50-win seasons at ATP level, becoming the first Italian in the Open Era to reach that number.
The world number one impressed on serve, winning 30 of his 37 first-serve points, while also hitting 23 winners compared to the American's 15.
Andy Murray may have been sent packing, but there were sparkling wins for the other three British men at Flushing Meadows.
British number one Cameron Norrie fired 15 aces on his way to a 7-5 6-4 6-4 victory over qualifier Hsu Yu-hsiou of Chinese Taipei.
“Honestly, he should have won the first set but I was able to take the momentum into the second set,” said the 28-year-old.
“I was really happy with how I played the big points and I’m happy to be through.”
Norrie will face world number 61 Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in round three.
Evans, the British number two, came from a set down to beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 1-6 6-1 6-3 6-3.
It is the sixth time the 33-year-old has reached the third round at Flushing Meadows, although he will have his work cut out to go any further, with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz his next opponent.
Probably most impressive was Draper, who last year was ranked as high as 38 in the world but has endured a torrid 12 months with injuries and had to miss Wimbledon with a shoulder tear.
Now outside the top 100, Draper felt the shoulder again in a warm-up event in the US and feared the worst.
But the issue has cleared up and Draper is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows after beating 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-2 6-4 7-5 in the second round.
“I felt something in my arm again that I hadn’t had in a while, and, you know, came here with the intention of ‘we’ll take it day by day’,” he said.
“I had a scan and I had a very small bit of edema in my arm, which is basically a tear.
“I was looking with my coach and physio thinking, you know, just another bit of time off. We were almost in tears. What more can we do?”
He continued: “There was a strong chance I couldn’t play this week. But we got the scans done and sent it back home and they said it’s not the same injury, so it’s not that serious.
“I’m kind of looking after it each day. It was a bit sore after my last match but when the adrenaline kicks in and obviously playing the US Open, I just put it out of my mind and go out and try my best to play the tennis I want to.”
