Canadian trio shines in Australian Open qualifying

Canadians Frank Dancevic, Peter Polansky and Milos Raonic advanced to the second round of Australian Open qualifying with straight-set victories Wednesday.

Dancevic, from Niagara Falls, Ont., beat Romania's Adrian Ungur 6-2, 6-3 in Melbourne and will next play Evgeny Korolev of Kazakhstan, seeded No. 23 in the draw.

Polansky, from Thornhill, Ont., ousted Colombian Juan Sebastian Cabal 6-2, 6-0 and next takes on No. 10 Jesse Huta Galong of the Netherlands.

Raonic, also from Thornhill, won the opening set 6-2 against David Goffin before the Belgian retired with a stomach strain. He faces Croat Nikola Mektic in the second round.

Philip Bester of Vancouver, making his first Grand Slam appearance as a professional, was eliminated after a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Chilean veteran Nicolas Massu.

Stephanie Dubois of Laval, Que., and Heidi El Tabakh of Oakville, Ont., begin women's qualifying play Thursday. Rebecca Marino of Vancouver earned direct entry into the main draw.