Both Andy Roddick and Spain's David Ferrer have underestimated the 5ft 9ins Israeli in the past and Sela showed his fighting qualities in his first-round match at Flushing Meadows when he battled back from to two sets down to defeat Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci.
While the Swiss was last night preparing for his second-round clash, Andy Murray began his campaign with a stuttering victory over India's Somdev Devvarman.
The 24-year-old admitted to having felt the pressure of a nation on his shoulders in the build-up to a match in which he overcame his nerves to win in straight sets.
"Try being a British player going into a Grand Slam, it's not easy," he said.
"There's obviously pressure playing in these events to start with. There's obviously going to be a bit of nerves.
"But I'm happy with that. There's something wrong with you if you're going into a Slam not nervous."
Next up for Murray, tomorrow, is Dutchman Robin Haase, who beat the Scot in their only previous meeting and is in form after winning the ATP World Tour title in Kitzbuhel last month.
Fellow Brit Laura Robson didn't fare as well as Murray. The 17-year-old was beaten 6-2, 6-3 by Spanish No30 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues in the second round. "This was my first time qualifying for a Grand Slam, I won a round, so there are a lot of positives," she said.
Former champion Maria Sharapova followed up her battling win over Heather Watson by hammering Anastasiya Yakimova, of Belarus, 6-1, 6-1.
