Canada’s Carol Zhao won her opening match of the National Bank Open singles qualifying draw Sunday in Toronto with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Kristina Mladenovic of France.
The 29-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., jumped in as an alternate for American player Hailey Baptiste, who withdrew due to travel issues.
Zhao will now play eighth-seeded Ashlyn Krueger of the United States on Monday for a spot in the main draw. Krueger bounced back to beat Australia’s Priscilla Hon 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Vancouver’s Stacey Fung also won her opener with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over 13th-seeded Julie Niemeier of Germany.
Fung, a wild-card entry, will next play top-seeded Katie Volynets of the United States. Volynets avoided an upset to defeat Yuriko Miyazaki of Great Britain 0-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Montreal’s Eugenie Bouchard will not be moving on after losing 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 to second-seeded Moyuka Uchijima of Japan.
Montreal’s Carson Branstine fell to ninth-seeded Erika Andreeva 7-6 (3), 6-2 and Toronto’s Katherine Sebov lost 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 against 10th-seeded Nao Hibino of Japan.
