Popyrin blasted 10 aces and 44 winners to see off Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in just over two hours at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).
After taking out the great Novak Djokovic en route to the last-16 last year, Popyrin now must fashion another boilover and conquer top-seeded Sinner to stay alive at the final grand slam of 2025.
Sinner, brushing aside any concerns about the illness that had derailed him in the Cincinnati Open final eight days earlier, was typically merciless in opening his quest for a fifth career major, needing just 98 minutes to dispatch Czech world No.89 Vit Kopriva 6-1 6-1 6-2.
Popyrin's fellow Australian Maya Joint continued her extraordinary 2025 success story with the fearless teen successfully also negotiating her opening clash.
Having lost her previous three first-round matches at this year's grand slams - the only negatives in a brilliant two-title season for the 19-year-old Queensland-based player - Joint was delighted to get past Andorran qualifier Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-4 7-6 (8-6).
The US-born world No.43, who made her first big mark here last year when she reached the second round, has rocketed up the rankings since she started the 2024 campaign at No.684, with her experienced BJK Cup teammate Ajla Tomljanovic saying there's no ceiling to what she might achieve.
On Tuesday, she again demonstrated her fine temperament as world No.130 Kasintseva, another fine young talent at the age of just 20, put on the pressure in a 66-minute second set, twice earning set points at 5-3 and then again in the tiebreak at 6-5.
But Joint reeled off the last three points to seal the victory and set up a second-round clash with Wimbledon finalist and American No.8 seed Amanda Anisimova, who eliminated another Australian Kim Birrell 6-3 6-2 on Louis Armstrong Stadium.Â
"It's not easy playing in the first round of a grand slam, I never played against her so it was tricky," Anisimova said.
"It's been a special year, I'm just enjoying the journey. I try to have fun every day but these are the moments I enjoy the most."
Joint will seek to upset Anisimova and reach the third round of a slam for the first time in her fledgling career, another high point in a season when she's won her first tournaments, on clay at the Morocco Open and on grass at Eastbourne.
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