Former champion Angelique Kerber and Petra Kvitova ensured there were no early big-name departures in the women's singles on day four of the US Open.
On Wednesday night two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Murgurza had joined world no 1 Simona Halep in crashing out before the third round, but Kerber and Kvitova avoided the same fate with very different second-round victories.
Wimbledon champion Kerber, victorious in New York in 2016, had looked to be in cruise control against Sweden's Johanna Larsson having taken the opening set for the loss of just two games.
Larsson battled back from a break down to claim the second set with a break of her own proving crucial in the closing stages of the set before fourth seed Kerber eventually prevailed in an edgy final set for a 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory.
The pair were level throughout as they traded from the baseline but world No 82 Larsson tightened when it mattered most, a double fault at break point in the ninth game handed Kerber the initiative and the German closed out to remain on course for a fourth major title.
The 30-year-old will next face the 29th seed Dominika Cibulkova in a repeat of their 2016 final at the season-ending WTA Championships when the Slovakian claimed the biggest title of her career.
Cibulkova also needed three sets in accounting for Taipei's Su-Wei Hsieh, eventually coming through 7-6 4-6 6-4 to set up the last-32 showdown.
Also through to the third round is two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, who has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadow, but has reached the last eight in two of the last three years.
The 28-year-old has won five times on the WTA Tour this year and had little trouble in seeing off Yafan Wang with a 7-6 6-3 success enough to book a meeting with Belarusian 26th seed Aryna Sabalenka who beat Vera Zvonareva in straight sets.
Elsewhere sixth seed Carolina Garcia has yet to deliver on the promise that prompted Andy Murray to describe her as a future world no 1 but remains on course to reach just a second Grand Slam singles quarter-final.
The Frenchwoman has one Grand Slam doubles title to her name at Roland Garros, as well as a doubles final at Flushing Meadow, but has been beaten in the third round in each of the last two years in New York.
The 26-year-old beat Olympic champion Monica Puig in a see-saw contest that eventually saw Garcia prevail with a 6-2 1-6 6-4 victory that sees her through to a meeting with Kristina Mladenovic, who she reached both her doubles finals with or Carla Suarez Navarro.
Japan's Naomi Osaka was in a hurry, she needed just 50 minutes to power her way past Israel's Julio Glushko 6-2 6-0 and the 20th seed is yet to drop a set in this year's tournament.
A tougher test awaits in the shape of another Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich who recorded a notable 6-2 7-6 success against 11th seed Daria Kasatkina.
Last year's runner-up Madison Keys and Cincinnati champion Kiki Bertens also eased into the third round with comfortable straight sets victories.
Maria Sharapova battled past unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-2 7-5 to set up a third round clash with Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko.
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Tennis is back on Sky Sports screens with the Laver Cup in September while we will also have coverage of the ATP Finals in November with every match live on Sky Sports. But first, we will be across the final major of the year in New York as the US Open right through to the final with live blogs, reports, features and reaction.