Siegemund, Bjorklund among first qualifiers to reach US Open main draw

Laura Siegemund, Mirjam Bjorklund, and Americans Sachia Vickery and Katie Volynets are among the seven players who booked spots in the 2023 US Open main draw with final-round qualifying wins on Friday.

After Thursday's evening session was rained out, the qualifying rounds are partially behind. On Saturday, nine more players will grab the last remaining places in the main draw of the year's final Grand Slam.

Go HERE for all of Friday's qualifying results at the US Open website!

But No.10 seed Siegemund of Germany was one of the lucky players to get her qualifying campaign done on Friday, notching a 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 comeback win over No.18 seed Oceane Dodin of France.

Siegemund is a former World No.27 who reached the 2020 Roland Garros quarterfinals, but her career-best singles performance at the US Open is a third-round showing in 2016.

US Open Preview: Everything you need to know | Draw analysis

However, Siegemund has won both of her two Grand Slam titles at the US Open -- in doubles disciplines. She won the mixed title with Mate Pavic in 2016 and the women's doubles title in 2020 alongside Vera Zvonareva.

Sweden's Bjorklund also claimed a spot in the US Open main draw with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Ankita Raina of India. Bjorklund, who qualified for Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year, will make her US Open main-draw debut.

Read more: Bjorklund, ATP pro Shapovalov announce engagement

Vickery will play the main draw of her home Grand Slam for the sixth time after she advanced past No.3 seed Yanina Wickmayer, who retired from their match while trailing 3-1 in the first set.

The four other players to win final-round qualifying matches on Friday and reach the main draw are Volynets, Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania, Han Na-lae of South Korea and 19-year-old Tatiana Prozorova, who will be making her Grand Slam debut.

Meanwhile, the postponed second-round qualifying matches finished up on Friday, which finalized the nine remaining final-round showdowns now set for Saturday.

Go HERE for Saturday's qualifying order of play at the US Open website!

Current University of North Carolina student-athlete Fiona Crawley made the final round, edging former Doubles World No.1 Timea Babos 6-2, 3-6, 7-6[10-5]. In her first career Grand Slam qualifying appearance, Crawley has won her first two rounds in third-set match-tiebreaks.

Crawley and Babos's match was postponed overnight at nearly the last possible moment -- 5-5 in the 10-point match-tiebreak. When play resumed on Friday, Crawley immediately won five points in a row to wrap up the victory. Crawley will play No.13 seed Kimberly Birrell in the final round on Saturday.

Also advancing into the final round is resurgent No.15 seed Wang Yafan of China, who defeated American Ann Li 6-2, 6-4. Last week's WTA 125 Stanford champion Wang has won her last nine matches, and she will face No.32 seed Marina Bassols Ribera on Saturday for a spot in the main draw.

Former Top 50 player Wang missed seven months of play last season, and her ranking fell to No.696 this March. But she has posted a 55-10 win-loss record in her comeback this year, primarily at ITF Challenger events, and is on the brink of returning to the Top 100.

Vera Zvonareva, the 2010 US Open runner-up, also moved a win away from the main draw. Former World No.2 Zvonareva beat Despina Papamichail 7-5, 7-5 and will face Moyuka Uchijima in the final round.

Friday's biggest second-round upset came when Elsa Jacquemot took out No.2 seed Diana Shnaider 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3. The 20-year-old Jacquemot saved seven match points in the second set before toppling 19-year-old Shnaider, and she will now play Arianne Hartono in the final round.