Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open women’s champion, and Canadian compatriot Carson Branstine both secured victories on Wednesday to progress to the final round of U.S. Open qualifying matches.
Andreescu, hailing from Mississauga, Ontario, dominated Ukraine’s Veronika Podrez with a 6-0, 6-3 victory in the second round of the women’s singles qualifying event. The 26-year-old Canadian capitalized on five out of 12 break-point opportunities, setting up a match for Thursday against either Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia or Guiomar Maristany of Spain.
Meanwhile, Branstine triumphed over Czech player Linda Fruhvirtova with a 6-4, 7-5 win. The 25-year-old Californian, who represents her mother’s homeland, converted all five of her break points and outscored Fruhvirtova with 22 winners compared to eight.
Branstine is scheduled to face Robin Montgomery from the United States on Thursday for one of the remaining spots in the main draw. Andreescu made history in 2019 by becoming the first Canadian to win a singles Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, defeating the iconic Serena Williams in the final.
In a separate development on Wednesday, Vancouver’s veteran player Rebecca Marino suffered a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Russia’s Elena Pridankina in the second round of qualifying matches. On the men’s side, Alexis Galarneau of Levis, Quebec, was defeated 7-6 (3), 6-2 by Czech player Dalibor Svrcina, while Liam Draxl from Newmarket, Ontario, faced American Andrew Johnson later in the day.