Alex de Minaur has saluted his NSW "State of Origin" cohorts after spearheading Australia's best start to a US Open in almost 30 years.
Backing up gingerly from his first match in seven weeks, de Minaur recovered from an early deficit to see off Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen 7-5 6-1 7-6 (7-3) and warned he was "getting better every day".
Jordan Thompson also rose to the occasion to claim the biggest scalp of the tournament yet, sending world No.7 Hubert Hurkacz packing with a rollicking 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 7-5 victory to open day four at Flushing Meadows.