Round 2 of the 2021 US Open Qualifying Tournament is in the books on Day 3, with 32 men and 32 women remaining. The players who won on Thursday, in the balmy New York City conditions, are one win away from a spot in the main draw of the 2021 US Open. Sixteen men and 16 women will have that opportunity on Friday in the third round of the play-in tournament.
Here are some highlights from Thursday’s action at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Raducanu keeps rolling, will face history-maker Sherif for main-draw spot
Emma Raducanu's stellar summer continued with a win over Mariam Bolkvadze in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. The No. 31 seed hasn’t dropped a set in qualifying and has been effective on both serve and return. Against Bolkvadze, the 18-year-old only dropped two service games, where she recorded three aces and landed 73% of her first serves. In two wins, she's broken her opponents a total of nine times.
Raducanu looks to build on her recent success, which saw her make the Round of 16 at Wimbledon and the final of a WTA 125 Series tournament in Chicago, Ill., with a maiden US Open appearance. The London resident will attempt to qualify against No. 4 seed Mayar Sherif of Egypt, who also hasn't dropped a set in two matches.
Sherif, the first Egyptian to reach a WTA singles final and crack the Top 100 in the women's rankings, beat American teen Clervie Ngounoue in Round 1, 6-4, 6-3, and ousted Belarus' Yuliya Hatouka, 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday.
Marino's magic continues
Canadian Rebecca Marino is one win away from her first US Open appearance since 2010.
The Vancouver native had to overcome being down a break in the third set, defeating 19th seed Ysaline Bonaventure 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Despite only serving at a 49% rate, Marino recorded 14 aces and won 78% of her first-serve points. Where Marino shined was staving off break points, saving 9-of-11 (82%) in the match.
Marino is anointing 2021 as “chapter two” of her career, after taking an indefinite leave from tennis in 2013 and returning in 2018. This summer, the 30-year-old is putting together a remarkable comeback story, which included victories at the WTA 1000-level event in Montreal last month against 2017 US Open finalist Madison Keys and 26th-ranked Paula Badosa. Marino has four wins against Top 40 players in her career, with two of them occurring on home soil.
Marino’s lone result in New York was the second round, where she lost to two-time US Open champion Venus Williams.
WATCH: Marino vs. Bonaventure, Qualifying Round 2
Brantmeier's teenage dream rolls on
Reese Brantmeier (pictured, above) continues to make the most of a wild card. After upsetting No. 23 seed Olga Govortsova on Monday, the Cold Spring, Wisc. native won in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 against Rebecca Sramkova.
Brantmeier, 16, earned four break points in her second-round qualifying match and converted all of them. In the third and decisive set, the teenager’s serve overpowered her opponent, as she won 12-of-15 (80%) of her first-serve points. In victory overall, she saved 7-of-8 break points she faced.
Currently 29th in the ITF junior rankings, Brantmeier competed in junior Roland Garros and junior Wimbledon, but earned her qualifying wild card by virtue of finishing runner-up at the USTA Girls' 18s Nationa Championship earlier this month. Brantmeier competed in her first junior US Open in 2019 at age 14, and she's just one victory away from her first Grand Slam main draw in just her 16th pro-level event.
She'll next face No. 2 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who overcame 2018 US Open quarterfinalist Lesia Tsurenko in one of the day's most greulling matches, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. In her two victories this week, Schmiedlova (pictured below) has logged a staggering 5 hours, 57 minutes on court.
Cressy cruises to final qualifying round
29th seed and former UCLA Bruin Maxime Cressy won comfortably Thursday in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 against Brazilian Joao Menezes. Cressy won 72 points to Menzees’ 53, relying on his serve to propel past his opponent. Known for his serve-and-volley style of play, the French-American fired 11 aces and in the second set, won 94% of his first serve points and 100% on his second.
Cressy’s first Grand Slam came at the US Open in 2020, where he advanced to the second round and was beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 24-year-old followed up his maiden Grand Slam appearance by qualifying for the 2021 Australian Open, and will seek a third career main-draw berth at a major on Friday when he takes on Belgian Ruben Bemelmans.
