Canadian veteran Rebecca Marino advanced in the U.S. Open women’s singles qualifying with a strong 6-1, 6-4 victory over France’s Fiona Fero. The Vancouver native, aged 35, showcased her skills with eight aces and successfully broke Fero’s serve four times out of six opportunities.
Marino, who qualified for the main draw last year but lost in the first round to fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez, will now face Russia’s Elena Pridankina in the next round of the qualifying tournament. Another Canadian, Carson Branstine, also secured a win, defeating Clervie Ngounoue from the United States with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (3). Branstine’s next opponent will be Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. Unfortunately, Kayla Cross from London, Ont., faced a tough loss 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 from the Netherlands later in the day. In the men’s competition, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Que., 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 suffered an upset, losing 2-4, 4-1, 10-8 to Kristina Mladenovic from France and Marcelo Arevalo from El Salvador. Dabrowski is also set to compete in the women’s doubles event at the U.S. Open, aiming to replicate her success from last year’s tournament where she clinched the title alongside former partner Erin Routliffe, marking their second U.S. Open championship in three years.