Rain eventually took control of second-round action at US Open qualifying on Thursday, but a number of former Top 30 players still managed to move into the final qualifying round before evening play was washed out and postponed into Friday.
Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine was one of the lucky players to finish their second-round match. No.12 seed Yastremska extended her strong form as she overcame former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on the Grandstand at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
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Yastremska is coming off a WTA 125 title in Kozerki, Poland earlier this month -- her first title at any level since 2019. The 23-year-old, who has won three Hologic WTA Tour singles titles and has been ranked as high as World No.21, avenged a loss to Bouchard in Madrid earlier this year.
Yastremska will meet Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania for a spot in the main draw. Ruse has won both of their previous meetings.
Yanina Wickmayer also reached the final qualifying round, as the No.3 seed from Belgium ousted Great Britain's Harriet Dart 6-3, 6-4. Dart had gotten the better of Wickmayer on the grass of Surbiton five years ago, but the 33-year-old exacted her revenge on Thursday.
Wickmayer reached the US Open semifinals as a 19-year-old in 2009, which helped propel her to a career-high ranking of No.12 the very next season.
Wickmayer gave birth to daughter Luana two years ago, and in her comeback, she has improved her ranking from No.323 at the start of this year to her current placement of No.86.
Wickmayer next faces American Sachia Vickery for a place in the main draw. Wickmayer has a 2-0 record against Vickery, with both matches taking place in 2019.
View all of Thursday's qualifying results at the US Open website HERE!
Another former Grand Slam semifinalist, Tamara Zidansek, also advanced on Thursday. The No.19 seed from Slovenia outlasted Rebecca Sramkova 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in nearly two-and-a-half hours.
Zidansek reached the Roland Garros semifinals in 2021 and peaked at No.22 in the rankings the following season. She needed to convert five of her 10 break points on Thursday to fend off Sramkova in their second-round qualifying clash.
Zidansek advances to her first career meeting with Tatiana Prozorova in the final qualifying round.
Germany's Laura Siegemund was another winner on Thursday, as the No.10 seed beat Simona Waltert of Switzerland 6-2, 7-6(4). Former World No.26 Siegemund's best Grand Slam singles result was a quarterfinal showing at 2020 Roland Garros.
The 35-year-old veteran Siegemund is a two-time US Open champion in doubles. She won the mixed doubles title in New York City in 2016 alongside Mate Pavic, then won the women's doubles title four years later paired with Vera Zvonareva.
Siegemund will take on No.18 seed Oceane Dodin of France for a place in the main draw. Dodin overcame Marina Melnikova 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday.
Read more: Breaking down the numbers behind the US Open's top seeds
All told, exactly half of the 32 second-round qualifying matches scheduled for Thursday will finish on Friday. Eight of those 16 were interrupted mid-match, and the other eight were postponed before they even started.
Among Thursday's interrupted matches, the clash between former Doubles World No.1 Timea Babos of Hungary and current University of North Carolina stalwart Fiona Crawley is perched precariously. Babos and Crawley are deadlocked at 5-5 in the third-set tiebreak, and will start there when play resumes on Friday.
