Britain’s Cameron Norrie fought back from two sets down to earn a memorable win over Argentine ninth seed Diego Schwartzman on day one of the US Open.
Norrie, ranked 76th, looked set for a routine defeat before turning it around to win 3-6 4-6 6-2 6-1 7-5 in New York.
Both struggled to hold serve in a match with 58 break points, Norrie saving two match points in the decider before winning in almost four hours.
Later, Kyle Edmund plays Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik (around 21:00 BST).
The four other Britons in the singles – Andy Murray, Dan Evans, Johanna Konta and Heather Watson – play on Tuesday.
The US Open is the first Grand Slam event to be held since the coronavirus pandemic and is being played behind closed doors at Flushing Meadows.
A host of star names – including defending champions Rafael Nadal and Bianca Andreescu – have withdrawn because of health and travel fears, while Swiss great Roger Federer is missing because of a knee injury.
British number three Norrie was handed a tough draw by starting against a consistent and competitive player who is a two-time quarter-finalist at the US Open.
The 25-year-old Briton struggled with his rhythm in the first two sets, hitting 34 unforced errors to leave himself with an uphill battle to reach the second round.
But he cut the mistakes to just five in the third set and, combined with Schwartzman becoming frustrated after receiving a time violation, threatened a comeback.
One of the most memorable moments in Norrie’s career came when he fought back in similar fashion – the only time he has won after losing the first two sets – to beat Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut on his Davis Cup debut in February 2018.
Another looked on the cards as Schwartzman struggled to get out of his rut in the fourth, two breaks of serve by the Briton taking the match into a decider.
Like in the previous sets, break opportunities for both men continued to flow in the fifth and that left an unpredictable match still able to swing either way.
Although Schwartzman looked to be waning physically, he had chances at 5-3 and 5-4 to clinch victory before Norrie fought back again as he outlasted the world number 13.
Norrie’s reward is another match against an Argentine opponent in the shape of 103rd-ranked Federico Coria.
