A breakthrough win for Hewitt

Seventeen-year-old Cruz Hewitt continued his rapid rise on the ATP Tour, reaching the 32 of the Winston-Salem Open with a hard-fought first-round victory over American Sebastian Borzny 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4. Granted a wildcard into the ATP-250 event, Hewitt posted his second career ATP Tour win, saying he had to 'dig deep' after dropping the first set quickly.

Hewitt managed to turn the match around in a second-set tiebreaker and then earned the decisive break in the ninth game of the third set. He overcame a challenging display from Borzny, who fired 12 aces, with the match lasting more than two hours. The Canberra Times, reporting via Australian Associated Press, noted the young Australian showed the trademarks of his father, former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt, in the hard-fought victory.

Last month, Hewitt logged his first tour-level win when he upset one-time world No.37 Marcos Giron in straight sets at the Mubadala Open in Washington. Up next for the teenager is a meeting with Britain's Arthur Fery, the tournament's fourth seed, in the round of 32.

Duckworth and Hijikata book last-16 berths

While Hewitt's win capped what one report described as a great day for the Australians, the outcome was mixed. Two of the four Australians in action reached the last 16, and two were eliminated.

James Duckworth, ranked 79th with the US Open around the corner, claimed a straight-sets victory over Argentine sixth seed Mariano Navone 6-3 7-6 (7-5). The 34-year-old Sydneysider, still chasing his first tour title, produced a 'huge confidence boost' with the win, per a headline of the match. He was broken while serving for the first set at 5-2 but closed it out in 37 minutes, then fell 3-0 behind in the second before winning that tiebreaker against the world No.48.

Duckworth, who had earlier warmed up with a 72-minute defeat of 456th-ranked American qualifier Quinn Vandecasteele, next faces either ninth seed Adrian Mannarino or Lorenzo Sonego.

Played on the same day, Rinky Hijikata also advanced with a hard-fought win over Belgian fifth seed Raphael Collignon, triumphing 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 in a three-hour 11-minute epic. The 25-year-old world No.85 dropped serve in the eighth game to lose the first set, and both players struggled on serve in the second and third sets. There were a total of 10 breaks between them in those two sets before Hijikata, who is also without a tour title, booked a third-round meeting with France's Benjamin Bonzi.

Other results at Winston-Salem

The second day of the tournament saw mixed fortunes for seeds. Second seed Luciano Darderi won an all-Italian clash against Mattia Bellucci 2-6 6-4 6-2, while eighth seed Juan Manuel Cerúndolo and Dutch 13th seed Botic van de Zandschulp both advanced. However, the 11th and 12th seeds, French players Luca Van Assche and Quentin Halys, were eliminated. Adam Walton, who made his US Open debut last year, was beaten in three sets by third-seeded Peruvian Ignacio Reuse, while the tournament's sixth seed's loss to Duckworth was among the day's notable results.

Cruz Hewitt's match-up with Fery was confirmed for the round of 32, with Fery the fourth seed in North Carolina. The Canberra Times and PerthNow provided coverage of the day's events.