At just 18 years of age, Wang Xiyu will play in her first career Rogers Cup presented by National Bank main draw.
The 5-foot-11 rising star from China stunned the No. 11 seed Rebecca Peterson 6-4, 6-2 to qualify for her first-ever US Open series tournament. Xiyu was dominant on serve throughout the match, winning 25 of 32 first-service points. With the win, the reigning junior US Open champ will now face the former US Open and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round.
But Xiyu wasn’t the only one to pull off an upset on Sunday. Francesca Di Lorenzo downed Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in a three-setter 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. Di Lorenzo came up big when she had to, converting eight of 11 break points during the match. She will next face Petra Martic in the opening round, with the fifth-seeded Kiki Bertens awaiting the winner. Di Lorenzo’s one and only Grand Slam appearance was actually cut short by Bertens in the second round of the 2018 US Open.
Another teen who will make their main draw debut at Rogers Cup is the 18 year old, Iga Swiatek. The Polish teen accomplished the feat with a straight-sets victory over Heather Watson 6-4, 6-2. Swiatek didn’t get off to the strongest of starts. She found herself down a break and trailing 2-0 in the first set. But the World No. 61 managed to rally from behind. She broke back to level the first set, before later winning six games in a row. A run that allowed out her to win the second set and the match comfortably.
Swiatek’s first-round opponent Ajla Tomljanovic was also among the 12 qualifiers to secure their spot in opening round at Rogers Cup. The No.3 seed from Australia took down American Christina McHale 6-4, 7-6 (2) in just under two hours. Ajla Tomljanovic, a top-50 player on tour, tallied nine aces in the match and won 70% of her first-service points.
Earlier in the day, on Court 1, American Alison Riske also secured her spot by downing fellow American Varvara Lepchecko 6-4, 6-4. The victory sets up a difficult first-round date with Greece’s Maria Sakkari, who is coming off a semi-final appearance at the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose.
Other notable winners include Anastasia Potapova and Polona Hercog. The World No. 59 from Slovenia beat Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-3, setting up a first-round match-up against Germany’s Julia Goerges. While Potapova upset Shuai Zhang after the No.1 seed was forced to retire in the second set. The Russian teen will next face the 2015 Rogers Cup champion Belinda Bencic in the first round.
