Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the final round of women’s qualifying at the US Open, while fellow Canadian Peter Polansky moved a win away from the men’s main draw.
Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., cruised past Georgia’s Ekaterine Gorgodze 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday to close in on a berth in the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.
The Canadian had five aces and won 77 per cent of first-serve points, while breaking Gorgodze five times.
Gorgodze struggled with her serve, winning 52 of her first-serve points and a woeful 15 per cent of her second-serve points.
Bouchard next faces American Jamie Loeb on Friday.
Polansky, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo 7-6 (7), 6-4.
Polansky had nine aces to Giraldo’s seven. While he was only accurate on 46 per cent of his first serves, he won 79 per cent of those available points. He also scored on 63 per cent of second-serve points.
A lucky loser entry at this year’s previous three Grand Slams, Polansky will try to win his way into the US Open main draw when he faces American Donald Young on Friday.
Later Thursday, Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime faced American Christopher Eubanks in a second-round qualifying match.
In the second round of women’s qualifying, Montreal’s Françoise Abanda had a contest against Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia later on Thursday.