Sandgren, Anderson win on Day 3 of FO qualies

Day 3 of French Open qualifying saw a trio of Americans earn victories to move one step closer to the main draw in Paris.
 

In first-round action, Robin Anderson defeated No. 17 seed Barbora Krejcikova, when the Czech was forced to retire trailing 6-4, 2-6, 5-1, while Francesca Di Lorenzo beat countrywoman and No. 6 seed Christina McHale, 7-5, 7-6, in the only all-America match of the day.
 

Tennys Sandgren was the lone American winner on the men’s side, beating Mats Moraing of Germany, 6-2, 6-2, to progress to the third and final qualifying round.
 

Anderson will now play 29-year-old world No. 139 Julia Glushko of Israel for a place in the final qualifying round. The American came into Paris with a 1-5 record in qualifying at majors, her lone win coming three years ago in London.

The 2019 French Open represents Anderson’s second time in French Open qualies. In 2016, she lost to Miyu Kato of Japan in the first qualifying round, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6.

Joining Anderson in Round 2 is 21-year-old Di Lorenzo, who came into Paris after reaching the semifinals of clay-court events in Dothan, Ala., and Bonita Springs, Fla., that helped raise her ranking to 155, five spots below her career-high achieved last October.
 

Di Lorenzo, who played collegiately at Ohio State University and beat McHale in her Slam main-draw debut in New York last summer, will face 31-year-old Giulia Gatto-Monticone of Italy in Round 2.

In the men’s draw, Sandgren (pictured above) is one win away from his third-consecutive French Open main-draw appearance after beating Mats Moraing of Germany, 6-2, 6-2.
 

Sandgren, the only U.S. man still in the qualifying draw, will play Mathias Bourgue on Friday for a place in the 128-player field at Roland Garros, which gets underway Sunday.
 

Currently ranked No. 87 in the world, Sandgren lost in the first round in Paris in 2018 and 2017. But Sandgren’s path back to the main draw is not necessarily easy against world No. 237 Bourgue, a player who has only one Grand Slam match win under his belt but who pushed No. 2 seed Andy Murray to five sets in the second round here three years ago.
 

At least one American man has qualified for the main draw in Paris in each of the past two years. Should Sandgren fail to advance, it will leave nine U.S. men in the field.
 

Elsewhere in Paris on Thursday, Marcos Giron fell to No. 19 seed Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-4, and Bjorn Fratangelo lost to Elliot Benchetrit of France, 6-3, 6-4, in the second qualifying round.
 

On the women’s side, Danielle Lao lost to Xiyu Wang of China, 6-1, 6-1.
 

Eight American women are in second-round action on Day 4 in the French capital.
 

Top women’s seed Bernarda Pera plays Kai-Lin Zhang of China, No. 11 seed and former junior No. 1 Whitney Osuigwe plays fellow American Allie Kiick, and reigning French Open girls’ champion Coco Gauff plays 21^st-seeded Slovenian Kaja Juvan.
 

No. 19 seed Varvara Lepchenko plays Romina Oprandi of Switzerland, No. 23 seed Saschia Vickery meets Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, Anderson faces Glushko and Di Lorenzo plays Gatto-Monticone.