Canadian veteran Rebecca Marino advanced in the U.S. Open women’s singles qualifying round with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over France’s Fiona Fero. The Vancouver native, aged 35, showcased a strong performance with eight aces and breaking Fero four times out of six opportunities.
Having successfully navigated the qualifiers last year, Marino is aiming for a repeat as she now gears up to face Russia’s Elena Pridankina in the upcoming rounds. Joining her in the next stage is fellow Canadian Carson Branstine, who secured a 6-2, 7-6 (3) win against Clervie Ngounoue from the United States. Branstine’s next opponent will be Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. However, Kayla Cross from London, Ontario, faced a defeat with a score of 6-1, 6-1 against Robin Montgomery from the U.S.
Former U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu from Mississauga, Ontario, was scheduled to compete against Eva Vedder from the Netherlands later in the day.
On the men’s side, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Quebec, advanced to the next round by defeating Keegan Smith from the United States with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-3. Galarneau’s next opponent will be Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia.
In the mixed doubles qualifying round, the second-seeded team of Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa and Harri Heliovaara from Finland faced 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 the women’s doubles event, aiming to replicate her past success after winning the title in last year’s tournament alongside her former partner, Erin Routliffe, marking their second U.S. Open championship in three years.