JJ Wolf, Verdasco and Schmiedlova among first round winners in US Open qualifying

The battle for 16 berths in the men’s and women’s singles main draw kicked off at the US Open on Tuesday with several notable names in the mix

J.J. Wolf of the United States plays a shot against Frances Tiafoe of the United States in first round qualifying play for the National Bank Open at the Aviva Centre. Credit: AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

August 25, 2021

American J.J. Wolf and former top 10 player Fernando Verdasco were among the notable names to win on Tuesday as the US Open qualifying event kicked off in New York.

Wolf, who reached the third round of the 2020 US Open as a wild card entrant, defeated Denis Istomin 7-5, 6-2 and will next face Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak, who scored a 6-1, 7-4 win over Frederico Ferreira Silva.

37-year-old Verdasco, who peaked at No. 7 in the rankings in 2009, defeated Facundo Mena 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

Elsewhere, Robin Haase, a former World No. 33, defeated Croatian Borna Gojo 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1; second seed Francisco Cerundolo defeated Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 6-0, 6-7(5), 6-4; American Maxime Cressy scored a 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 win over Guido Andreozzi, Germany’s Oscar Otte beat Renzo Olivo 6-7(3), 6-0, 7-6(4), and France’s Hugo Gaston overcame Czech Vit Kopriva 6-4, 6-2.

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Former top 30 players Schmiedlova and Tsurenko set up second round clash at US Open qualifying

Anna Karolina Schmiedlova at Roland Garros French Open 2020 Credit: JB Autissier / Panoramic

On the women’s side, second seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova was among the notable names who advanced to the second round.

The Slovak, a former top 30 player, needed three hours to overcome France’s Tessah Andrianjafitrimo, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 and will next meet Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko. Tsurenko, a former top 30 player herself and a quarter-finalist at the US Open in 2018, scored a 7-5, 7-6 win over Ellen Perez.

Others moving into the second round include third seed Nuria Párrizas Díaz, of Spain, who defeated Croatia’s Tereza Mrdeza, 7-6(4), 6-1; sixth seed Greet Minnen defeated Spain’s Andrea Lázaro García 6-3, 6-2; seventh seed Elena-Gabriela Ruse, who scored a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3 over Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, and 10th seed Astra Sharma, a 7-5, 7-6 winner over Viktoria Kuzmova.

Also advancing were former top 30 player Urszula Radwanska, who upset the 27th seed Katarina Zavatska 6-3, 7-5, former top 20 player Mihaela Buzarnescu, who defeated Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa 6-3, 7-5, and Canadian Rebecca Marino, who beat Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, 6-3, 6-2.