Photo: Martin Sidorjak
One Canadian remains in the singles draws of the final Grand Slam event of the season in Flushing Meadows, New York after Bianca Andreescu and Rebecca Marino were both eliminated in the third round on Friday.
Marino was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by world no. 36 Shuai Zhang of China who managed to diffuse the Canadian’s powerful serve and come out on top in most of the extended rallies during the match which lasted just over an hour. Despite the loss, Marino’s impressive run to her first third round appearance at the U.S. Open will allow her to move back inside the Top 100 on the WTA rankings for the first time since returning to tennis in 2018.
Meanwhile, Andreescu fell 6-3, 6-2 to a dominant Caroline Garcia who could do no wrong under the lights at Louis Armstrong Stadium. The no. 17 seed, who was crowned champion in Cincinnati a few weeks ago, consistently hit balls hard and deep which kept Andreescu on her heels and unable to impose her game. The talented Frenchwoman hit winners from all over the court and made life very difficult for her opponent, especially with her aggressive approach when returning serve. Andreescu showed flashes of her brilliance throughout the tournament, particularly in the second round against Beatriz Haddad Maia. Her performance this week should be a good stepping stone toward getting back to the top of the women’s game where she belongs.
Doubles Wins for Dabrowski and Fernandez
In better news, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski advanced to the third round of women’s doubles thanks to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over the American pair of Hailey Baptiste and Whitney Osuigwe alongside her partner Giuliana Olmos.
In mixed doubles, Leylah Fernandez and Jack Sock opened their title bid with a 6-2, 2-6, 10-5 triumph over Kimberley Zimmermann and Tim Puetz.
On Saturday, Denis Shapovalov will attempt to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open when he takes on no. 9 seed Andrey Rublev. You can watch the match tomorrow afternoon on TSN and RDS.
