As play moves well into the third round, there is a good opportunity to take stock of the American progress in the Land of Oz. As expected, the women have fared more successfully than the men. While,top American Serena Williams has rolled through the brackets, there was also strong evidence showing that there was more to United States tennis Down Under than just the top player in the world.  Under the scorching Melbourne temperatures, the second-ranked American man and second-ranked American woman had forged success for themselves advancing in the early round, as well. But Sloane Stephens and Sam Querrey each was confronted with obstacles in their most recent matches, and it was mixed results for the Americans.

With the extreme heat policy enacted as temperatures reached 110 degrees, many matches were pushed back in Melbourne Park on Thursday. This seemingly melded the second and third round action together, for matches ran late into the night. For American Sloane Stephens, the wait must have felt endless as a lengthy delay due to lightning during her match pushed play back even further. Stephens, who made a semifinal run in Melbourne in 2013 and upset Williams in the process, was forced to survive a scare by Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia in the second round. The American dropped the first set but turned her fortunes around prior to the lightning delay, taking the second set and gaining control of the third at 3-0.

However, when play resumed, Tomljanovic ran off five straight games and served for the match at 5-4. But Stephens benefited from a double fault to break back and ultimately took the set and match, 3-6 6-2 7-5. The 20-year-old talent successfully dug deep to overcome multiple forms of adversity, something that had eluded her at times in the past.

Meanwhile, Sam Querrey was faced with adversity as well. Mentally, the American was forced to regain focus after building a first-set lead against 15th seed Fabio Fognini, only to see that lead and the first set slip away. Just as an opportunity presented itself to overcome his frustration, the skies opened, and play was halted due to rain. When play resumed, the pair engaged in a series of exciting rallies and forecourt action that brought the late-night crowd to its feet.

However, the Italian was on top of his game and exploited some inconsistent play by Querrey.  After another rain delay, he placed a stranglehold on the match and eliminated the American in straight sets, 7-5 6-4,6-4. Querrey had gained confidence entering the match after early success this week, but his confidence turned into frustration in the third round of the season’s first Grand Slam.

In what could be deemed a microcosm of the status of United States men’s and women’s tennis, just one American man and two American women remain in the draw.  However, the lone American in the men's draw is world No. 91 Donald Young, while the two remaining women are the most dominant player in the world and a top prospect in Williams and Stephens. While Young's run is refreshing for the Americans, the men's results in Melbourne highlight the gap between the top players in the world and the state of men’s tennis in the United States.