Branstine downs Ngounoue 6-2 7-6 in US Open qualifying

Carson Branstine came through a straight-sets win over Clervie Ngounoue, 6-2 7-6, to advance from the US Open qualifying quarterfinals. The difference was quality rather than quantity on serve: Branstine landed only 61.9% of her first deliveries but won 69.2% of those points, while Ngounoue found the court far more often at 78.4% and still won just 55.2% behind it. The American's second serve was the real problem, yielding only 31.2% of points against Branstine's 45.8%, and her five aces could not offset that gap. Both women hit six double faults, but Branstine handled the tie-break to close it out.