Ito, Seidel, Tjen continue strong summer form in US Open qualifying

Aoi Ito, one of the breakout stars of this year's North American hard-court swing, was at it again on Day 2 of US Open qualifying.

The 21-year-old Japanese No. 3 seed, who reached the third round as a qualifier in both Montreal and Cincinnati, overcame former No. 45 Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in 2 hours and 14 minutes on her Flushing Meadows debut. Ito's full repertoire of nonchalant forehand slices, lightning-quick anticipation and precise angles were all on display before a packed Court 9.

Friedsam was able to counter with plenty of touch of her own, leading to several superb exchanges between the pair. Early in the decider, Ito flicked an inside-out forehand slice lob over Friedsam's head; the German managed to respond with a tweener, but Ito put the point away with an angled drop volley, struck from just behind the service line.

German No. 21 seed Ella Seidel, another player who has broken through at tour level this month, also won her first round 6-3, 6-2 win over Liechtenstein's Kathinka Von Deichmann. Seidel, 20, upset Emma Navarro and McCartney Kessler to make the last 16 in Cincinnati, her first WTA 1000 main draw, last week.

Ito will next face Spain's Guiomar Maristany Zuleta De Reales, who came through 6-2, 7-6(4) against French 19-year-old Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah. Seidel will take on former No. 73 Sachia Vickery, who defeated Anastasiia Sobolieva 7-5, 7-5 in her first match since February.

Tjen, Vidmanova continue post-college surges

Over the past year, former college standouts Janice Tjen and Darja Vidmanova have both delivered seriously impressive transitions to the professional circuit, and both carried that form into their Grand Slam qualifying debuts.

Tjen was unranked when she graduated from Pepperdine University with a major in sociology in May 2024. Sixteen months, 13 ITF titles and a 97-13 win-loss record later, she's at a career high of No. 147 this week. The 23-year-old's season highlights include a 27-match winning streak from May to July, followed by back-to-back finals at the Lexington ITF W75 and Landisville ITF W100 in the past month. She needed just 61 minutes to dismiss No. 22 seed Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 6-1 on Tuesday.

Tjen's rise also snaps a long drought at the top of the game for her country. She's the first Indonesian to compete in a Grand Slam qualifying draw since Sandy Gumulya at the 2008 Australian Open, and the first to win a match at this level since former No. 55 Angelique Widjaja qualified for the 2004 US Open.

Like Tjen, Vidmanova was also unranked 16 months ago, and has also rocketed into the Top 200 this year thanks to a 24-5 record that included three consecutive ITF titles in May and June -- the Santo Domingo ITF W35, Sumter ITF W75 and Cary ITF W100. The 22-year-old Czech graduated from the University of Georgia this year with a bachelor's degree in finance, and is now ranked No. 170. She took just 67 minutes to defeat 18-year-old wild card Maya Iyengar, the Billie Jean King Girls' Nationals U18 runner-up, 6-1, 6-2.

Tjen will next face Poland's Maja Chwalinska, who advanced 6-2, 6-0 past Giorgia Pedone, with a potential third-round meeting against Ito on the line. Vidmanova will take on No. 9 seed Zhang Shuai, who defeated wild card Mary Stoiana 7-5, 6-3.

Klimovicova, Dart, Gorgodze pull through marathons

• Two months ago, Linda Klimovicova lost a high-quality heartbreaker 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to Iva Jovic in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying. At Flushing Meadows, she found herself embroiled in a similar contest against another 2007-born talent, Alina Korneeva -- but this time the No. 188-ranked Pole came out on top, triumphing 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 6-4 in 2 hours and 55 minutes. Klimovicova led 5-1 in the second set, and held her first match point at 5-2, but recovered well after Korneeva's resurgence in that set. She will take on No. 25 seed Jessika Ponchet next after the Frenchwoman eased past Elizabeth Mandlik 6-4, 6-2.
• A similar dynamic played out for Harriet Dart, who snapped a six-match losing streak to upset No. 13 seed Anca Todoni 7-5, 6-7(3), 7-6[6] in 3 hours and 21 minutes. Dart led 4-1 in the second set and 5-3 (with two match points) in the third, but had to withstand spirited fightbacks from the big-hitting Romanian, as well as her own nerves, to eventually pull through. Dart is now 4-0 in super-tiebreaks in her career, and will next face No. 284-ranked Ayana Akli. American wild card Akli marked her Grand Slam qualifying debut with a 7-5, 6-2 win over the Netherlands' Eva Vedder.
• Last June, former No. 108 Ekaterine Gorgodze's ranking had fallen to No. 468. But at the age of 33, the Georgian has rehabilitated it by grinding away in ITF tournaments from Burundi to Hungary to Florida. She owns a 41-24 record this year and is back up to No. 226 this week. Playing her first Grand Slam qualifying event since the 2023 Australian Open, Gorgodze battled past former No. 38 Heather Watson 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2 hours and 25 minutes from 3-0 down in the third set, and was visibly emotional as she closed out her first win at this level since Roland Garros 2022. Her reward will be a clash with another Briton, No. 1 seed Francesca Jones, who defeated former No. 43 Viktoria Hruncakova 6-3, 6-4.