The final round of qualifying has concluded at the 2021 US Open, with 16 men and 16 women earning spots into the main draw of the season’s final Grand Slam tournament. These players, many of whom will be making their first main-draw appearance in New York, each won three rounds in the Qualifying Tournament.
Here are some highlights from Friday's action at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center:
Former collegians Loeb, Cressy, Eubanks to represent U.S. in main draw
The number of American tennis players in the main draw of the US Open has increased by three thanks to former college stars Jamie Loeb (UNC), Maxime Cressy (UCLA) and Christopher Eubanks (Georgia Tech).
Loeb, 26, defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu, 6-4, 7-6, qualifying for her second main draw appearance at the US Open. The Bronxville, N.Y., native came up clutch in critical moments in this match, saving eight of nine break-point opportunities, good for 89%. The former North Carolina Tar Heel’s first US Open main draw was in 2015, where she received a wild card and lost in the first round to 2014 finalist Caroline Wozniacki.
Cressy had to battle back after losing the opening set, 6-4, against Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans. The 24-year-old showcased tremendous resilience, coming back to win the next two sets, 6-2 and 7-5. In the third set, despite delivering his first serve at a 39% rate, Cressy broke twice and captured 83% of his first-serve points, relying on his chip-and-charge style of tennis to overpower Bemelmans.
This is Cressy’s second consecutive main draw appearance at the US Open; in 2020, Cressy reached the second round before losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas. It is also the French-American’s second Grand Slam main draw appearance of 2021, the first coming in Australia this past February.
Christopher Eubanks also came from behind and went the distance to reach the New York main draw for the third time in his career. The Atlanta native edged Argentina's Sebastian Baez, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6.
WATCH: Eubanks vs. Baez
Brits Raducanu, Boulter, Dart book main-draw tickets
The British contingent of qualifiers also saw success on the hard courts in Flushing Meadows.
Eighteen-year-old Emma Raducanu won in straight sets on Friday, defeating fourth-seed Mayar Sherif, 6-1, 6-4. The No. 31 qualifying seed did not drop a set throughout qualifying, with the most games she lost in a set being five. After seeing two match points on Sherif's serve at 5-3 pass her by, the teen served out victory to love.
Raducanu is into her second main draw of a Grand Slam in the 2021 WTA season, the first happening at Wimbledon where she made the Round of 16.
"I thought today I'd give it absolutely everything I've got phyiscally, because I knew if I got through it, I'd have two days off," Raducanu told ESPN's Brad Gilbert after the match. "Definitely motivation, the last round, it's always easy to try to push yourself to the absolute max, and that's what I thought I did well today.
"It's amazing. I think that the amount of matches I've played in the last two weeks has definitely helped me get match-tight. I'm feeling really confident in my game at the moment so I'm just riding it, and just [want to] keeping going as long as I can.
"It's always difficult when you don't take match point opportunities, but I just had to regroup because there's nothing worse than letting it get to you and then, suddenly, you lose the set and you're battling it out in the third. I managed to find four good first serves, and I'm really happy that I could close that match out."
Katie Boulter survived in three sets, upsetting eighth-seed Kristina Kucova 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. The 25-year-old from Leicester converted both of her break points in the third set, where she won 78% of her first-serve points.
Like Raducanu, this is Boulter’s first main draw appearance in her career at the US Open and her second Grand Slam of 2021, along with Wimbledon.
Harriet Dart rounds out the trio of successful British qualifiers with her 6-7, 6-1, 6-3 win over No. 12 seed Viktoriya Tomova.
Karlovic, 42, reaches main draw for the 17th time
The big-serving Ivo Karlovic made his US Open main-draw debut in 2003 at the age of 24. Eighteen years later, he'll make his 17th appearance, thanks to a 6-3, 7-6 win over Japanese No. 15 seed Yuichi Sugita.
Ranked a career-high of world No. 14 in 2008, Karlovic—who's won over $10 million in prize money in his 21-year pro career—now sits outside the Top 200. But the Croatian can never be counted out with his aggressive game. He sealed victory on Friday with a stabbed volley to close out a 7-5 tiebreak, using every inch of his 6-foot-11 frame to produce a clinching forehand winner at the net.
Canada's Marino returns to main draw
The last time Rebecca Marino made the main draw at the US Open was in 2010.
Eleven years later, the Canadian is back into the main event at Flushing Meadows after defeating sixth-seed Greet Minnen in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. It is the second consecutive three-set match that Marino had to win during qualifying, which has become a trend for the Vancouver native during her summer season. At the National Bank Open in Montreal, Marino won in three sets against 26th-ranked Paula Badosa.
Marino’s journey to the main draw is one of the captivating comeback stories of the 2021 WTA season. In 2013, Marino took an indefinite break from tennis to focus on her mental health. Eight years later, Marino’s return to the WTA, or what she calls “Chapter Two” of her career, includes two victories against Top 40 players and two Grand Slam main-draw appearances.
The full results from the final round of qualifying are available on our Completed Matches page.
