The second round of the US Open got underway as the bottom half of the men's draw was able to beat the rain and complete their 16 matches.
Second seed Daniil Medvedev, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and fifth seed Andrey Rublev were all victorious on a challenging day for the players.
Top seeds move on in rain-filled day and night of action
Medvedev blew away Dominik Koepfer 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round for a fourth straight year. The Russian hit 23 winners against the German lefty, advancing in one hour, 48 minutes.
"I just try to win", he said. "I have been playing a lot of strong guys on Tour. The more I win throughout my career and here in New York in this stadium, the better I will feel.
"It is really special to be back with the crowd in New York. I am just trying to be myself, sometimes in the bad moments, sometimes in the good moments. I just try to be myself."
Next up for the 2019 runner-up is Spaniard Pablo Andujar, who routed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.
Alexei Popyrin could be a potential opponent for Medvedev in the fourth round after the Australian advanced following a retirement by 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov leading 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), 4-0 when the Bulgarian stopped playing.
World number 73 Popyrin will first have to get past 24th seed Daniel Evans as the Brit came through his second-round clash with Marcos Giron, defeating the American 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3.
Tsitsipas worked hard to overcome Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-0 in two hours, 41 minutes. Outside Arthur Ashe Stadium, a severe storm flooded the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
"I could hear [the rain]. At first I thought it was the crowd, just people talking in the back seats", he said. "I just realized it was not the crowd, it was the rain. Just a lot of noise from coming up there."
A third-round showdown with Carlos Alcaraz awaits the third seed after the 18-year old Spaniard took care of another Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
"He's a young talent that has been doing very well recently. He's been constantly improving. I think he is someone that has a game for all surfaces.
"I want to play the best of my game against him. I see him as a potential contender in the future for Grand Slam titles and other big events."
The other match in this section of the draw will feature two qualifiers playing in an unlikely third-round matchup. Henri Laaksonen took down 16th seed Cristian Garin 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4 and Peter Gojowczyk rallied from two sets to one down to oust Dusan Lajovic 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Rublev crushed 67 winners in defeating Pedro Martinez 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1. The Russian, a two-time quarterfinalist at Flushing Meadows, made just seven unforced errors over the final two sets of the two hour, 52 minute contest.
Next up for the fifth seed is Frances Tiafoe as the American advanced to the third round of a second straight major with a 6-1, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Guido Pella.
12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and 18th seed Roberto Bautista Agut will square off in the next round after each recorded straight set wins.
The Canadian knocked off Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-2 in two hours, 13 minutes while the Spaniard routed Emil Ruusuvuori 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
Diego Schwartzman and Kevin Anderson needed to wait through several weather delays, starting their match on Louis Armstrong Stadium and finishing six hours later on Ashe with the 11th-seed Argentine coming out on top 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-4.
The second-round clash was suspended for 30 minutes at 5-5 in the first set, then again at 4-4 in the tiebreaker when both players complained about the slippery surface.
Outside, the storm forced New York’s subway service to be suspended, fans returned to cars wading through knee-deep water at times and past trees outside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that had been uprooted.
Schwartzman and Anderson returned once more to Armstrong, completing the first set - extended across one hour and 48 minutes - and the first game of the second set, before play was suspended for a third time with Anderson serving at 30/15 in the second game.
But following the conclusion of third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas’ victory over Adrian Mannarino inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, Schwartzman and Anderson moved to the main show court.
Next up for the 11th seed is Alex Molcan as the Belgrade finalist needed five sets to eliminate American wild card Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Eighth seed Casper Ruud was stunned by Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp as the world number 117 hit 50 winners en route to the 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Van de Zandschulp will play Facundo Bagnis as he won an all-Argentine battle against another qualifier Marco Trungelliti 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.