Canadian veteran Rebecca Marino took a significant step toward 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 her skills with eight aces and capitalized on four out of six break opportunities against Fero.
Having successfully navigated the qualifying rounds last year, Marino is aiming to replicate her performance in the final Grand Slam of the season. Her next challenge will be against Russia’s Elena Pridankina in the upcoming rounds of the qualifying tournament.
Joining Marino, fellow Canadian Carson Branstine also advanced with a solid 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Clervie Ngounoue from the United States. Branstine is now set to face Czechia’s Linda Fruhvirtova. However, Kayla Cross from London, Ont., faced a defeat with a score 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.
In men’s competition, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Que., advanced to the second qualifying round after defeating Keegan Smith from the United States 7-6 (4), 6-3. Galarneau’s next opponent will be Czechia’s Dalibor Svrcina.
Turning to 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 anticipated to participate in the women’s doubles event at the U.S. Open. She clinched the title last year partnering with Erin Routliffe, marking their second U.S. Open championship in three years.