MELBOURNE, Australia -- Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu advanced to the main draw of the Australian Open on Friday after her opponent retired with an injury in the second set of her final qualifying match.
The 18-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., was leading Tereza Smitkova of the Czech Republic 6-0, 4-1 when Smitkova withdrew, sending Andreescu to her second career Grand Slam main draw.
Andreescu needed just 27 minutes to win the first set. The match lasted 54 minutes.
Earlier Friday, Canadian Peter Polansky lost his third and final qualifying match.
Andreescu was seeded fourth in the qualifying tournament while Smitkova, ranked No. 137, was seeded 26th.
Andreescu was coming off a remarkable run at the ASB Classic in New Zealand last week that saw her defeat former World No. 1s Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams en route to her first WTA final. Andreescu lost the championship match to 14th-ranked Julia Goerges but soared 45 spots up the rankings to sit at No. 107.
Andreescu also played in the main draw at Wimbledon in 2017, losing in the first round.
Polansky, the 10th seed in the qualifying tournament, fell 6-4, 6-4 to Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia.
The 22-year-old Kokkinakis fired 18 aces and had 33 winners in the match, which lasted one hour 30 minutes.
Kokkinakis is ranked No. 145. Polansky, of Thornhill, Ont., is No. 118 and in his 12th year on the ATP Tour.
Polansky made history last season as the first player to gain entry into each of the four Grand Slam tournaments as a lucky loser after losing his final qualifier.
