Jean-Guy Fugère
Layne Sleeth of Markham, Ontario came this close to the second round of the qualifying event of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers at IGA Stadium in Montréal.
Against 10th seed Anastasia Potapova of Russia, she fought her way to 6-4, 4-2, but the 19-year-old, who plays for the University of Florida Gators and is currently ranked No.776, couldn’t keep the momentum going and surrendered at 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The match closed out a tough day for her and her fellow Canadians. Of the seven who were competing, none survived.
Currently on the comeback trail, Françoise Abanda held up well against Caroline Garcia of France but still fell in two tight sets (7-6(5), 6-4).
Raphaëlle Lacasse managed to secure only one game versus Christina McHale of the US, while Kayla Cross stole two from Océane Dodin of France and Mélodie Collard won three against Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia.
Katherine Sebov and Mia Kupres both lost in two sets to Heather Watson of Great Britain and Ann Li of the US, respectively.
The last qualifying round starts on Sunday at 11 a.m. on the outer courts and at noon on Centre Court, which will welcome ticket holders.
