FILE - Rebecca Marino at the 2011 U.S. Open Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011.
Image Credit: Wikimedia/robbiesaurus
August 04, 2018 - 9:00 PM
Canada's Rebecca Marino is one win away from playing in the main draw of the Rogers Cup for the first time since 2011.
The 27-year-old from Vancouver upset Vera Lapko of Belarus 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of qualifying for the women's tournament on Saturday in Montreal.
Marino returned to pro tennis this year after almost five years away from the sport. Now ranked 310th in the world, she earned a wild card into the qualifying draw and made the most of it by knocking off the No. 69-ranked Lapko.
Marino has played at lower levels since returning as she tries to work her way back up the rankings. She hit a career high of No. 38 in 2011.
Marino, who won a Challenger event in Winnipeg earlier this summer, was one of eight Canadian women to play in qualifying on Saturday.
Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski lost 6-1, 6-2 to American Bernarda Pera and Montreal's Catherine Leduc fell 6-2, 6-2 against Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia.
Alexandra Vagramov, Katherine Sebov, Isabelle Boulais, Carson Branstine, and Leylah Fernandez were the other Canadian women in action Saturday.
Players need to win two matches to earn a spot in the main draw.
On the men's side of the Rogers Cup in Toronto, another Vancouver player recorded an upset.
Felip Peliwo, ranked 203rd in the world, beat world No. 64 Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of qualifying at the Aviva Centre.
The 24-year-old Peliwo won the Wimbledon boys' title in 2012, but hasn't enjoyed the same success at the men's level. His highest ranking was No. 161 earlier this year.
Peliwo was one of five Canadians in men's qualifying play Saturday.
Brayden Schnur of Pickering, Ont., lost to American Mackenzie McDonald, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., dropped a 6-3, 6-4 decision to Mikhail Youzhny of Russia and Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., fell 6-3, 6-4 against Russia's Evgeny Donskoy.
Benjamin Sigouin of Vancouver also played Saturday.
Main-draw action begins Monday in Toronto and Montreal.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2018