Büyükakçay seeks ticket for US Open

NEW YORK

Büyükakçay, Turkey’s highest-ranked women’s singles tennis player, aims to qualify for the US Open for the first time. Hürriyet photo

Turkey’s Çağla Büyükakçay defeated her American opponent to advance to the second round of the US Open qualifying tournament on Aug. 22. 

Büyükakçay, Turkey’s top-ranked women’s singles player, beat Ashley Weinhold 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of the qualification tournament to advance to the second round. Büyükakçay was scheduled to play Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino of Spain in a second round game later yesterday. 

The 23-year-old is bidding to advance to her first ever Grand Slam.

Youngster İpek Soylu will also compete at the US Open Junior’s event. Soylu announced via her Twitter account that she will start the tournament in the first round. 

Turkey’s top-ranked men’s singles player, Marsel İlhan, lost to Russia’s Mischa Zverev to bow out of the US Open qualification tournament. İlhan, who has advanced to the second round of all four Grand Slam tournaments, is having a poor season by his standards. The 24-year-old slipped to as low as 160th in the rankings of ATP, which oversees men’s tennis. 

İlhan became the first Turkish men’s player to rise into the top 100 two years ago. 

Olympic and Wimbledon winner Serena Williams looks like the favorite in women’s competition starting next week. Williams is likely to face competition from top seed and World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the reigning Australian Open champion, and Poland’s World No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska, the Wimbledon runner-up. 

Russian Maria Sharapova, who completed a career Grand Slam with her fourth major title at this year’s French Open, won the 2006 US Open and should contend as well.

World number-one Roger Federer looks like the one to beat in men’s competition, while defending champion Novak Djokovic and Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray are other contenders in the absence of injured Rafael Nadal.