Canadian tennis player Rebecca Marino advanced in the U.S. Open women’s singles qualifying round after defeating France’s Fiona Fero 6-1, 6-4 on Monday. The Vancouver native, aged 35, showcased a strong performance with eight aces and capitalized on four out of six break opportunities.
Last year, Marino successfully navigated through the qualifying rounds at the U.S. Open before facing a first-round exit against compatriot Leylah Fernandez. In her upcoming match, she is set to compete against Russia’s Elena Pridankina in the ongoing three-round qualifying tournament.
Another Canadian, Carson Branstine, secured her spot in the next round by defeating Clervie Ngounoue from the United States with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (3). Branstine will now face off against Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. Unfortunately, Kayla Cross from London, Ont., faced a tough defeat 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 of the Netherlands later in the day.
In the men’s category, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Que., progressed to the next qualifying round after defeating Keegan Smith from the U.S. with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-3. Galarneau’s next opponent will be Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia.
Additionally, in the mixed doubles qualifying round, the second-seeded pair 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.
Gabriela Dabrowski is also anticipated to participate in the women’s doubles event at the U.S. Open. She clinched the doubles title last year alongside former partner Erin Routliffe, marking their second U.S. Open victory in three years.