Canadian tennis players Bianca Andreescu and Carson Branstine both secured victories on Wednesday to progress to the final stage of the U.S. Open qualifying rounds. Andreescu, hailing from Mississauga, Ontario, triumphed over Veronika Podrez of Ukraine with a score of 6-0, 6-3 in the women’s singles qualifying event, breaking her opponent five times during the match. Branstine, a 25-year-old dual citizen born in California, defeated Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia with a score of 6-4, 7-5, converting all five of her break-point opportunities.
Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is set to face either Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia or Guiomar Maristany of Spain in her upcoming match. Branstine will compete against Robin Montgomery from the United States for a spot in the main draw. Notably, Andreescu made history in 2019 by becoming the first Canadian to win a singles Grand Slam title after defeating Serena Williams in the final.
In other matches on Wednesday, Rebecca Marino from Vancouver was defeated by Russia’s Elena Pridankina, while Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Quebec, lost to Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia in the men’s second-round qualifying. Liam Draxl from Newmarket, Ontario, faced off against Andrew Johnson from the United States later in the day.