Canadian tennis player Rebecca Marino advanced to the second round of U.S. Open women’s singles qualifying by defeating Fiona Fero of France 6-1, 6-4. The 35-year-old from Vancouver showcased a strong performance with eight aces and successfully breaking Fero four times out of six opportunities.
Marino, who made it through qualifying last year but was eliminated in the first round, is now set to face Russia’s Elena Pridankina in the upcoming qualifying match. Another Canadian, Carson Branstine, also progressed to the next round after defeating Clervie Ngounoue of the United States 6-2, 7-6 (3). Branstine will now compete against Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. However, Kayla Cross from London, Ont., faced a tough loss of 6-1, 6-1 against Robin Montgomery from the U.S.
Former U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu from Mississauga, Ont., was scheduled to play against Eva Vedder from the Netherlands later on the same day.
In the men’s category, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Que., secured a spot in the second qualifying round by defeating Keegan Smith from the United States with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-3. Galarneau is now gearing up to face Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia in the upcoming match.
Additionally, in mixed doubles qualifying, the second-seeded team comprising Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa and Harri Heliovaara from Finland suffered an upset, losing 2-4, 4-1, 10-8 to Kristina Mladenovic from France and Marcelo Arevalo from El Salvador. Dabrowski is also anticipated to participate in women’s doubles at the U.S. Open, aiming to replicate her success from last year’s tournament where she clinched the title alongside her former partner, Erin Routliffe, marking their second U.S. Open championship win in three years.