By Canadian Press

Polansky and Andreescu advance in qualifying while Auger-Aliassime falls

Jan 9, 2019 | 4:00 PM

MELBOURNE, Australia — Peter Polansky and Bianca Andreescu advanced to the third round of the Australian Open’s qualifying draw on Thursday while fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime was eliminated.

Polansky, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated Slovenia’s Blaz Rola 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-3 and Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., dispatched Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece 6-4, 6-1.

Auger-Aliassime, from Montreal, dropped a 7-6 (4), 6-3 decision to American Christopher Eubanks.

Polansky can advance to the main draw with a victory over Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in the third round.

The 118th-ranked Canadian reached all four Grand Slam main draws last season as a lucky loser. That’s the term for someone who falls in the final stage of qualifying but is randomly selected to play in the main draw if a spot opens up because of a withdrawal.

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Andreescu, the fourth seed in qualifying, faced only a single break point over the course of her match. She hit 21 winners to just 17 unforced errors.

Andreescu rose 45 positions to No. 107 in the world rankings after reaching her first career WTA Tour final last week in Auckland. The 18-year-old defeated third-ranked Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams en route to the final.

The 18-year-old Canadian will next play Tereza Smitkova of the Czech Republic for a spot in the main draw.

Auger-Aliassime, the No. 2 seed in qualifying, is ranked 106th in the world. He never had a break opportunity and failed to defend the only break point he faced.

Eubanks will meet Spain’s Pedro Martinez in the next round.

The Canadian Press