Canadian Zhao advances to the final qualifying round of Wimbledon

Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ontario, moved one step closer to qualifying for the first Grand Slam main draw of her career with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 second round victory over Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands in Wimbledon qualifying on Wednesday in London.

Zhao was accurate on 80 percent of her first serves and won 67 percent of the available points. She was also effective on the second serve, winning 75 percent of those points.

Zhao will face American veteran CoCo Vandeweghe on Thursday for a place in the main draw of the grass court Grand Slam.

She will be the only Canadian to play for a main draw on Thursday. Toronto’s Katherine Sebov lost 6-0, 6-3 to Czech Republic’s Brenda Fruhvirtova in the second round of women’s qualifying, while Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Italy’s Matteo Gigante in the second round of the men’s tournament.

Fernandez eliminated in Bad Homburg Open

Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., was eliminated from the Bad Homburg Open tennis tournament on Wednesday with a 7-5, 6-2 second-round loss to Russia’s Anna Blinkova in Bad Homburg, Germany.

Ranked 96th in the world, Fernandez fell to 16-14 in singles competition this year.

Fernandez will perform at Wimbledon for the second time in her career this year. She lost in the first round in her only other appearance in 2021.

LOOK | Fernandez ousted by Blinkova in 2nd round: