Canadians Bouchard, Auger-Aliassime close in on main-draw berths at US Open

Auger-Aliassime also capitalized on four of his eight break-point opportunities.

He’ll square off against world No. 133 Gerald Melzer of Austria on Friday.

Earlier Thursday, Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the final round of women’s qualifying.

Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., cruised past Georgia’s Ekaterine Gorgodze 6-1, 6-2 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.

Montreal’s Francoise Abanda also downed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 7-6 (3), 6-3 to move closer to a spot in the main draw.

The 21-year-old, who is ranked 210th, broke Haddad Maia three times and won 91 won total points to Haddad Maia’s 72.

Abanda is slated to take on Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic on Friday.

On the men’s side, fellow Canadian Peter 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 U.S. Open main draw when he faces American Donald Young on Friday.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Canadians Bouchard, Auger-Aliassime close in on main-draw berths at US Open

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