American wild card Taylor Townsend advances to the main draw with a straight set win.
© Clifford J. Turrell
Yanina Wickmayer lets out a scream after her tough qualifying final round win.
© Eric Spohn
Bernard Tomic is back in to the main draw of the W&S Open for a second time.
© Steve Oldfield
Ohio State Buckeye Chase Buchanan is through to the main draw of the W&S Open.
© Eric Spohn
Twelve women and seven men have earned their spot in the main draw of the 2014 Western & Southern Open, after successfully making it through the final round of qualifying Sunday.
Former World No.1 junior, Taylor Townsend, kicked off the action at the Lindner Family Tennis Center with an impressive 6-4, 6-3 win over Silvia Soler-Espionosa. The 18-year-old wild card broke the Spaniard seven times in their 77 minute match to advance to the main draw in Cincinnati for the first time.
Fellow American wild card, Nicole Gibbs, also advanced to the main draw after a stunning 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over 2010 French Open Champion Francesca Schiavone. The Cincinnati native and former NCAA champion will make her first main draw appearance at the W&S Open.
Britain’s Heather Watson will make her first main draw appearance in Cincinnati, after defeating Shahar Peer 6-3, 6-0 in the final round of qualifying. The young up-and-comer broke Peer five times en route to the 53 minute win.
Other women advancing to main draw play: Polona Hercog, Karin Knapp, Pauline Parmentier, Annika Beck, Varvara Lepchenko, Chanelle Scheepers, Irina-Camelia Begu, Zarina Diyas, and Yanina Wickmayer.
On the men’s side, American wild card Chase Buchanan, pushed through to the main draw with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over fellow countryman Tim Smyczek in the final round of qualifying. Buchanan was a five-time All-American during his four years at Ohio State, and claimed the 2012 NCAA doubles title with partner Blaz Rola. The 22-year-old is through to the main draw of an ATP World Tour event for the first time in his career.
Former NCAA champion Benjamin Becker faced a tough test from Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri. After over two hours on court, he was finally able to pull out a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) win over Jaziri, saving eight of ten break points in the process. Becker is through to the W&S Open main draw for the sixth time in his career.
In an all-Aussie battle, it was young gun Bernard Tomic who pulled out a 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Matthew Ebden. The 21-year-old only lost one service game and won 82% of his first serve points en route to the 70 minute win. Tomic is back in the main draw in Cincinnati for the first time since 2012.
Other men advancing to the main draw: Marinko Matosevic, Teymuraz Gabashvili, James Ward, and Benoit Paire.