Canada’s Carol Zhao advances to second round of French Open qualifying

PARIS – Canada’s Carol Zhao advanced to the second round of the French Open women’s qualifying tournament with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 win over Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa on Tuesday.

Zhao, from Richmond Hill, Ont., won nine break points on 11 chances in a game where both players had trouble holding serve.

Kawa also had 11 break point opportunities and converted six.

Zhao will next face Sara Bejlek of Czechia. Bejlek is ranked 180th in the world, three spots below Zhao.

Zhao was the only Canadian to advance in qualifying on Tuesday. Toronto’s Katherine Sebov was defeated 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 by Croatia’s Petra Marcinko, while in men’s competition Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo fell 6-4, 7-6 (6) to Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2023.