Canadian veteran Rebecca Marino advanced to the next round of U.S. Open women’s singles qualifying with a solid 6-1, 6-4 victory over France’s Fiona Fero on Monday. The Vancouver native, aged 35, showcased a strong performance with eight aces and capitalized on four out of six break point opportunities.
Having successfully navigated the qualifying stage in the previous year, Marino is now set to face Russia’s Elena Pridankina in the upcoming three-round qualification event. Joining her in the next round 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. Unfortunately, Kayla Cross from London, Ont., faced a tough defeat of 6-1, 6-1 against Robin Montgomery of the U.S.
Meanwhile, Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., was scheduled to compete against Eva Vedder from the Netherlands later in the day.
On the men’s side, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Que., progressed to the second round of qualifying 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.
In mixed doubles qualifying, the second-seeded team comprising Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa and Harri Heliovaara from Finland faced an unexpected 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 women’s doubles at the U.S. Open, aiming to replicate her success from the previous year when she clinched the title alongside former partner Erin Routliffe, marking their second U.S. Open championship in three years.