The fortunes of Canadian tennis players continue to shine on the grass courts this Tuesday.
Bianca Andreescu, Carson Branstine, and Victoria Mboko all secured their spots in the second round of Wimbledon qualifying.
Former U.S. Open champion Andreescu showcased her prowess, dominating Brazil’s Laura Pigossi with a decisive 6-2, 6-1 victory, converting five break points along the way.
Meanwhile, Branstine pulled off a stunning upset against the top seed, Lois Boisson from France, who had recently captured the limelight with her remarkable semifinal journey at Roland-Garros.
The 24-year-old claimed a thrilling 6-2, 6-7 (1), 6-4 win, impressively serving six aces during the match.
Boisson, who saw her ranking soar 296 spots to No. 65 after her French Open success, was unable to secure a wild-card for the Wimbledon main draw, marking an early exit from her Grand Slam aspirations.
Branstine celebrated her grass-court season debut with her first main draw victory at the WTA Tour level earlier this month at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
The next challenge for Andreescu and Branstine is a showdown in the second round, with the winner just one match away from a spot in this season’s third Grand Slam.
The duo recently revived their doubles partnership, recalling their championship win in the girls’ doubles at the 2017 Australian Open.
In another thrilling match, Victoria Mboko rallied after losing her first set to advance alongside Andreescu and Branstine.
Mboko triumphed over Japan’s Nao Hibino with a score of 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2, despite converting only four of her 17 break-point chances, while Hibino succeeded on four out of six.
The talented 18-year-old improved her record to an impressive 43-6 this year, primarily competing on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
Having made her Grand Slam debut at the French Open, she advanced to the third round after qualifying for the main event.
Next up for the Toronto native is a match against Switzerland’s Valentina Ryser.
Unfortunately, fellow Canadians Liam Draxl, Kayla Cross, and Rebecca Marino faced early exits from Wimbledon after losing in the first round.
As for Marino, her first-round match was scheduled for later on Tuesday.
On the men’s side, Alexis Galarneau from Laval, Quebec, advanced with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory over American Murphy Cassone on Monday.
The main draw of Wimbledon kicks off on Monday, featuring Canadian stars Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo, and Leylah Fernandez, who have all secured their spots.
–with contributions from The Canadian Press
