On Saturday at the Odlum Brown VanOpen, Vancouver’s Emma Si Yu Dong earned her first career WTA match win. On Monday, she got her second and advanced to a WTA main draw for the first time, looking solid in a 6-3, 6-2 over Valeria Savinykh, who was the seventh seed in the qualifying round.

Dong had a boisterous hometown crowd pushing her to the victory. “It honestly feels unreal. When I was a junior, I played tournaments here, so it really is a blessing to be winning a pro match and qualifying for my first WTA main draw for the first time here at home. It means so much to me,” expressed Dong.

The fact that Savinykh is a former World No. 99 who reached the third round of the 2013 Australian Open wasn’t lost on the 19-year-old Dong. “I actually learned that she was formerly a top 100 player, so I knew she had a lot of experience,” she explained. “Definitely before heading into this match, I prepared myself mentally and physically really well. I was ready for a battle, and I think most of the match it was.”

On the men’s side, qualifying wild card Connor Church of Vancouver earned his first career ATP Challenger Tour win after toppling fellow Canadian Justin Boulais 6-3, 6-3. Church wound up being the lone Canadian to move on from the men’s qualifying first round.

As a hometown player, the 19-year-old was thrilled to hit the courts at Hollyburn Country Club. “I’m just grateful to be here. I got like a last-minute wild card. And I think I brought a pretty good level, kept it pretty steady throughout the whole match, and I guess felt lucky here and there and was able to gut it out,” said Church, who wrapped up his sophomore year at USC earlier this spring.

Church won the Stanley Park Open earlier this month and used the victory as a springboard to the solid play he demonstrated on Monday. “I think so, quite a lot of momentum. I think I’ve been playing a while, haven’t dropped a set yet since I’ve been back home (from school), so hopefully I can keep doing that,” he explained, reflecting on playing in front of a loud, local crowd. “It’s awesome. Just being from here and the whole crowd and everyone, it was amazing. I think it brought me so much energy and helped me get over the line.”

Photo credit: Bo Mon Kwan