Rising Israeli Tennis Stars Headed to the U.S. Open
Julia Glushko beats opponent in straight sets in third qualifying round; Only other Israeli to play in New York is Dudi Sela.
Rising Israeli tennis star Julia Glushko earned her second trip to the U.S. Open after knocking out Anastasia Rodionova in the tournament's third qualifying round on Saturday.
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Glushko, ranked 128th in the world and seeded 20th in the qualifier, swept Rodionova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
Glushko will be playing in her third career Grand Slam and second one this year, after appearing at the French Open. She also defeated the Rodionova, the veteran Russian-born Australian who is ranked 119th in the world, to advance to Roland Garros.
"I played well for one and a half sets," Glushko said after the match. "I went onto the court very focused. Now the real competition begins."
Glushko's first round opponent at the U.S. Open will be No. 23 in the world, Nadia Petrova, seeded 20th in the tournament. Petrova, the 31-year-old Russian, reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open last year, but got knocked out of the first round of her other Grand Slams in 2013.
The only other Israeli representative will be Dudi Sela in the men's singles. Amir Weintraub lost in the final round of the men's qualifiers to Maximo Gonzalez of Mexico 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday.
The U.S. Open begins tomorrow, August 26, and runs until Sept. 9.