Ito, Tjen set all-Asian meeting in US Open final qualifying round

New York: No. 3 seed Aoi Ito and fast-rising Janice Tjen set up an all-Asian matchup in the final round of US Open qualifying for a berth in the main draw.

Japanese 21-year-old Ito, who has scored upsets over Jasmine Paolini and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova this summer, came through a see-saw contest over Spain’s Guiomar Maristany Zuleta De Reales 6-0, 1-6, 6-1.

Meanwhile, Tjen of Indonesia notched her 99th match win since graduating last May with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Poland’s Maja Chwalinska, coming from 5-3 down and saving two set points in the first set.

Tjen, 23, is bidding to become the first Indonesian player in a Grand Slam main draw since Angelique Widjaja at the 2004 US Open.

Wednesday’s qualifying action was a near-washout due to persistent rain. Only eight women’s matches were started, and none were completed; as a result, the entire second round was postponed to Thursday, with the scheduled final round pushed to Friday.

Two of the most highly rated teenagers in the draw were among those who had their matches delayed at a crucial juncture. No. 2 seed Tereza Valentova trailed Tatiana Prozorova 5-4 in the first set, while Emerson Jones led Laura Pigossi 5-4, having just failed to serve out the opener.

Both returned on Thursday to wrap up their wins. Valentova, 18, sped through nine out of 10 games on resumption for a 7-5, 6-1 victory. Jones, 17, came through 6-4, 6-4, WTA reports.

Australia’s Jones will next face another former junior No. 1, Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva. The 20-year-old Andorran, who is bidding to become the first player from her country to compete in a Grand Slam main draw, trailed Astra Sharma by a set and a break overnight. However, on resumption, she played with substantially more purpose and confidence to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

British No. 1 seed Francesca Jones came through a remarkable second-set tussle to defeat Ekaterine Gorgodze 6-1, 7-6(11).

IANS