Canadian veteran Rebecca Marino progressed closer to securing a spot in the U.S. Open women’s singles main draw by defeating France’s Fiona Fero 6-1, 6-4 in the first-round qualifying match on Monday. The 35-year-old Vancouver native showcased a strong performance with eight aces and breaking Fero’s serve four times out of six opportunities.
Marino successfully navigated the qualifying rounds last year at the same Grand Slam event but was eliminated in the first round by fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez. Her next challenge in the three-round qualifying tournament will be against Russia’s Elena Pridankina.
Another Canadian, Carson Branstine, also advanced after a 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Clervie Ngounoue from the United States. Branstine is now set to compete against Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. However, Kayla Cross from London, Ont., faced a defeat with a score of 6-1, 6-1 against Robin Montgomery from the U.S.
Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., was scheduled to play against Eva Vedder from the Netherlands later on Monday.
In the men’s category, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Que., advanced to the second qualifying round after a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over Keegan Smith from the United States. Galarneau’s next opponent will be Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia.
During the mixed doubles qualifying round, the second-seeded pairing of 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 expected to participate in the women’s doubles event at the U.S. Open, aiming to defend the title she won last year with her former partner, Erin Routliffe, marking their second U.S. Open championship in three years.
