Samantha Stosur is safely through to the second round of the US Open for an eighth time after a tough workout against Camila Giorgi.

Australia’s 2011 champion overcame three service breaks and some relentless pressure to emerge with a 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 victory over the free-hitting Italian on Tuesday.

Stosur, the 16th seed this year, next plays Zhang Shuai, who crushed Australian wildcard Ellen Perez 6-1 6-1 in her opening match.

Stosur’s match went precisely as she expected, with Giorgi playing some daring hit-and-miss tennis in her bid to spring an Open boilover on the Old Grandstand Court.

The pair traded breaks in the third and fourth games, and then the seventh and eighth, in a rollercoaster opening set that Stosur took when Giorgi dropped serve for a third time.

Stosur was under the pump throughout the second set and dropped it in a tiebreak as Giorgi’s winners tally ticked over the 40-mark.

But the Italian also coughed up 14 double-faults as Stosur seized control of the deciding set to advance after two hours and 38 minutes.