Argentina made its presence felt on day two of the US Open, the final major of the 2024 season, as two members of the group of native tennis players known as the Legión advanced to the second round. 

Buenos Aires Open champion Facundo Díaz Acosta (64) kept his impressive season going as he steamrolled Frenchman Hugo Gastón (63) in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in just under two hours of play. Acosta will now face a stiff challenge in Britain’s Jack Draper (25) for a spot in the third round.

The good news for the Legión didn’t end there, however. The 23-year-old Mariano Navone (36th ATP singles ranked), who was making his US Open main draw debut, defeated Germany’s Daniel Altmaier (89) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1. He’ll now face Daniel Evans (184) of Britain on Thursday.

Federico Coria (79) struggled against Portuguese Nuno Borges (34), falling 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 42 minutes.

In the women’s singles draw, Nadia Podoroska (68th WTA singles ranked) lost to Russia’s Diana Shnaider (18) 6-0 and 6-1. She was the last Argentine woman’s player standing after Lourdes Carle (83rd) and Solana Sierra (158) lost their respective matches on Monday.

The 12 players across the two draws were the most Argentina had fielded in a Grand Slam singles tournament since Wimbledown in 2009.

The doubles tournament, which begins on Wednesday, will also see plenty of Argentines in action. Andrés Molteni and Máximo González (30 and 33 in ATP doubles), who represented the country at the 2024 Olympics, face Chile’s Nicolás Jarry (340) and Colombia’s Cristian Rodriguez (112). Then on Thursday, the duo of Camilo Ugo Carabelli (508) and Francisco Cerúndolo (294) will face the number one doubles player in the world, Horacio Zeballos, and his Spanish partner, Marcel Granollers.