Winston-Salem, United States, 21 August 2019 | AAP / tennis.com.au

John Millman marched into the third round of the Winston-Salem Open on Tuesday after defeating former world No.16 Marco Cecchinato.

The 14th-seeded Australian, who enjoyed a first-round bye, did not face a break point as he secured a 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 win in two hours and 31 minutes.

Millman will face Dutch world No.154 Robin Haase in the third round.

The Queenslander arrived in Winston-Salem having lost four of his six matches on North American hard courts since Wimbledon, and will be looking for another win ahead of the US Open, where he was a quarterfinalist last year.

His countryman Alexei Popyrin fell in the second round to 13th seed Miomir Kecmanovic.

In a battle between two of the tour’s young guns, the Serb got on top of Popyrin after a tense opening set, winning 7-6(5) 6-3.