Bucharest, Jan 8 /Agerpres/ - Romanian tennis players Anca Todoni and Gabriela Ruse will advance to the final round of women's singles qualifying for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, on Wednesday, in Melbourne.

The tournament will begin on Monday, January 12.

Anca Todoni (20 years old, 110 WTA) won 6-3, 6-2 against Spanish player Leyre Romero Gormaz (22 years old, 159 WTA), after one hour and 23 minutes of playing.

In the final round of the qualifiers, Todoni will face American Varvara Lepchenko (38 years old, 128 WTA), against whom she won in the qualifiers in Bogota last year, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

In another match in the second round of the qualifiers, Elena-Gabriela Ruse (27 years old, 125 WTA) defeated German Anna-Lena Friedsam (30 years old, 480 WTA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, after two hours and 12 minutes of playing.

In the final round of qualifiers, Ruse will meet American Emina Bektas (31 years old, 190 WTA), to whom she lost, 6-3, 6-0, in 2018, in the Vancouver qualifiers.

Miriam Bulgaru (26 years old, 217 WTA) got defeated in the second round of qualifying by Argentine Julia Riera (22 years old, 147 WTA), 6-4, 6-4, after almost two hours of playing (1 h 53 min).

Riera had previously defeated the Romanian in 2023, in the round of 16 in Buenos Aires, 6-2, 6-3.

Bulgaru won a check of 49,000 Australian dollars and 20 WTA points, while Todoni and Ruse secured 72,000 dollars and 30 WTA points for reaching this far in the competition.

Three Romanians will enter the main draw of the Australian Open singles, Sorana Cîrstea, Jaqueline Cristian and Irina Begu. AGERPRES (RO - editor: Mihai Tenea, EN - author: Cristina Zaharia)