Rebecca Marino’s surprising run at the National Bank Open continued Wednesday, with the Canadian defeating Paula Badosa of Spain 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.
The 30-year-old Vancouver native struggled early, with Badosa jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first set.
But Marino settled in and battled back, taking the second set and breaking Badosa twice in the third before sealing the game with an ace to advance to the third round.
The Canadian wild card saved 11-of-17 break points across the match and hit nine aces, while Badosa — No. 30 in the WTA rankings — had 10 double faults and saved 5-of-10 break points.
Marino, ranked 220th in the world, was a wild-card entry into the tournament and stunned many on Tuesday, upsetting No. 16 seed Madison Keys in straight sets to advance to the second round.
Marino had a career-high No. 38 WTA ranking back in 2011, but stepped away from the sport for nearly five years to deal with depression.
She wasn’t about to get much rest ahead of the third round.
Marino was scheduled to play doubles with Montreal’s Leylah Annie Fernandez later Wednesday, with the Canadians facing American Ingrid Neel and Elixane Lechemia of France.
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