Broder and Pischke prevail over Japanese Ishii and Murakami to advance to the main draw

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Jamie Broder and Taylor Pischke are qualified to the Fort Lauderdale Major main draw

Jamie Broder and Taylor Pischke had a busy first day in the 2018 Fort Lauderdale Major, but when it ended, they had big smiles on their faces. The Canadian duo is one of the eight women’s teams to advance for the main draw following a pair of victories on Tuesday's qualification tournament.

Playing only their second tournament together, Broder and Pischke started their campaign in Fort Lauderdale defeating Italian Olympians Marta Menegatti and Laura Giombini 2-0 (26-24, 21-15). In the second round, the Canadians prevailed over Japan’s Miki Ishii and Megumi Murakami in three sets (21-14, 14-21, 17-15).

“We had a big battle today with two tough matches,” Pischke commented. “We just tried to think at one game at a time and control our side. We are really excited and happy that we made it. It’s our second tournament together and we played really well today.”

The second match, against the Japanese, was particularly challenging, with strong winds blowing on the side court where both teams played.

“What a battle!” Broder said. “We just tried to survive the match and use the good side when we got there. The first set was a bit calmer, so we could just play our game, but in the second and third it was more about battling the conditions.”

In such peculiar conditions, serving was a key element of the match. Both teams were effective from the line, with the Japanese recording eight aces and the Canadians amassing six service points.

“It was very challenging,” the Rio 2016 Olympian Broder add. “They did good job of placing the ball and just making us play every ball. The really didn’t miss that many serves on second and third sets. So, for us, it was about controlling the best we could. Tracking the ball, moving our feet and focusing on executing well on each play.”

Top-seeded Taiana Lima and Carol Horta of Brazil also advanced for the main draw. The South American qualified after a 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) victory over New Zealand’s Kelsie Wills and Shaunna Polley.

You can watch the 2018 Fort Lauderdale Major live on BeachStream. Click here and register.