Destanee Aiava, Lizette Cabrera and John-Patrick Smith have joined Akira Santillan in the second round of US Open qualifying after wins in New York on Wednesday.
New York, NY, USA, 24 August 2017 | tennis.com.au
Teenagers Destanee Aiava and Lizette Cabrera advanced in contrasting circumstances to join the more experienced John-Patrick Smith as Aussie winners on Wednesday.
DRAW: men’s singles qualifying
Aiava struggled early against Macedonia’s Lina Gjorcheska but recovered to post a 4-6 6-4 6-3 victory, helped by powerful serving which ultimately overwhelmed the 211th-ranked Gjorcheska.
Cabrera, meanwhile, was ruthless against 25th seed Tamara Korpatsch, skipping out to an early 5-0 lead before wrapping up a 6-2 6-1 win.
She next faces Turkey’s Ipek Soylu while Aiava takes on either No.5 seed Zarina Diyas or Swede Rebecca Peterson.
DRAW: women’s singles qualifying
Wins will send the Aussie pair into the final round of qualifying.
Smith, who came through the qualifying rounds to reach the main draw at Flushing Meadows in 2015, began his 2017 campaign with a 6-4 6-1 victory over American Jeffrey John Wolf.
He next lines up against 12st seed Filip Krajinovic of Serbia.
ORDER OF PLAY: Thursday 24 August
Fellow Aussies Sam Groth and Matt Ebden went down on Wednesday. Groth, forced to skip last week’s Vancouver Challenger with a neck injury, lost 6-4 7-6(4) to Bosnian Mirza Basic, while Ebden was pipped 4-6 6-4 6-4 by Alejandro Gonzalez of Colombia.
Smith, Aiava and Cabrera join Akira Santillan in the second round of qualifying after the Aussie won his first-round qualifying match on Tuesday.
All four will feature on Thursday’s playing schedule in New York.