Bouchard falls in first round at Rogers

Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard says she simply “didn’t deserve” to win her first-round match at the Rogers Cup on a day where two of three Canadians were eliminated.

Not much went right for Bouchard as she lost 6-2, 6-4 to 15th-ranked Elise Mertens of Belgium in front of her hometown fans on Tuesday.

The 129th-ranked Bouchard, who was bothered by a blister on her toe, lost the match in one hour and 34 minutes as she dropped to 4-11 all time at the Rogers Cup.

“I didn’t start well at all today,” said Bouchard, who also lost in the first round at the Rogers Cup last year. “Against a top-20 player you have to be firing on all cylinders and doing everything well. Not a lot went well today for me. My backhand just wasn’t there and I missed a lot of first service points. Plus my toe was hurting.

“At the end of the day, I didn’t deserve to win this match because I didn’t play good enough tennis.”

The Westmount, Que., native started the match poorly. She was broken three times and dropped the first five games of the first set.

The 24-year-old showed signs of life though, winning back-to-back games in the first set before losing 6-2. She started the second set by winning her first three games.

“I relaxed a little and starting hitting a lot better and moved better,” said Bouchard, whose serve was broken five times in the match. “When I do that, I play my best tennis.”

Leading 3-0 in the second set, Bouchard called a medical timeout to deal with a blister on her toe that she says has been bothering her for a couple of months now.

When play resumed, Mertens went on to win the next five games on her way to victory.

“I’m on the right path, so I’m not going to let today get me down,” said Bouchard, who has not beaten a top20 player since May 2017. “There were so many things wrong with today. I didn’t play at a high enough level.”

Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ont., was also bounced from the tournament after losing 6-1, 6-2 to Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands.

In the final match of the day, Montreal’s Francoise Abanda became the last Canadian standing when she upset qualifier Kirsten Flipkens (No. 47) of Belgium 6-3, 6-2.

Playing her first top-50 opponent of the season, Abanda improved to 2-4 all time at the Rogers Cup thanks to her strong service game.

“This is one of the best moments of the year for me,” said Abanda. “I had the right mindset going in. She’s an experienced player, older, and I tried to stay solid every point.”

The 21-year-old Abanda (No. 191) will now face third seed Sloane Stephens in the second round today.

“I’ve been watching Sloane play for a few years now,” said Abanda. “It’s gonna be a huge challenge but the pressure’s on her.”