Canadian veteran Rebecca Marino advanced in the U.S. Open women’s singles qualifying round by defeating France’s Fiona Fero with a score of 6-1, 6-4. Marino, hailing from Vancouver and aged 35, showcased a strong performance with eight aces and successfully breaking Fero four times out of six opportunities.
Last year, Marino successfully navigated the qualifying rounds but was eliminated in the first round by Leylah Fernandez. In the upcoming matches, she is scheduled to play against Russia’s Elena Pridankina in the qualifying tournament.
In another match, Canadian Carson Branstine secured a victory against Clervie Ngounoue from the United States with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (3). Branstine’s next opponent will be Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. Meanwhile, Kayla Cross from London, Ont., faced a defeat against Robin Montgomery from the U.S. with a score of 6-1, 6-1.
Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., was preparing to compete against Eva Vedder from the Netherlands later in the day.
Men’s action saw Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Que., advancing to the second qualifying round after defeating Keegan Smith from the United States with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-3. Galarneau’s next opponent is set to be Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia.
In the mixed doubles qualifying round, the second-seeded team comprising Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa and Harri Heliovaara from Finland suffered an upset against Kristina Mladenovic from France and Marcelo Arevalo from El Salvador, with a score of 2-4, 4-1, 10-8.
Dabrowski is also expected to participate in the women’s doubles event at the U.S. Open. She clinched the title last year alongside her former partner Erin Routliffe, marking their second U.S. Open championship victory in three years.