BOUCHARD SQUEAKS BY
Canadian wins tiebreaker
MONTREAL Hometown favourite Eugenie Bouchard gave a boisterous crowd its money’s worth Tuesday as she battled for more than two hours before claiming a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3) win over Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in the first round of the Rogers Cup women’s tennis championships at Uniprix Stadium.
Bouchard showed signs of the fighting spirit which propelled her into the top 10 in the WTA Tour rankings in 2014.
There were some hiccups, but Bouchard generally played well against an experienced player who checks in at No. 28 in the rankings, 14 spots ahead of Bouchard. She had three break-point opportunities while trailing 3-1 in the second set and failed to capitalize.
And there was squandered opportunity in the 12th game of the tight third set which saw both players hold serve to the tiebreaker. Bouchard had three match points when the Czech fell behind 0-40, but Safarova earned full marks for getting out of trouble with a couple of aces and a service winner.
Safarova took a 3-1 lead in the tiebreaker, but Bouchard reeled off six consecutive points to take the match. She went all in to hit two passing shots and the match came to an anticlimactic finish when Safarova double-faulted.
“The crowd was incredible,” Bouchard said before ducking away to prepare for a doubles match later in the day.
The crowd wasn’t enough earlier in the day when Italian Sara Errani edged Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., 6-4, 7-6.
Wozniak, who reached a careerhigh No. 21 in 2009, said she’s starting to feel good after five years of dealing with injuries, including a shoulder injury which required surgery in 2014 and kept her sidelined for most of 2015. She hasn’t won a main-draw match on the WTA Tour since March 2014, but was encouraged by her play Tuesday.
I thought I played well. I had some opportunities to turn it around, but I’m happy. ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK
“It was a close match today, playing the No. 25 in the world,” said Wozniak. “I thought I played well. I had some opportunities to turn it around, but I’m happy with the performance going forward after this long period of time, which I didn’t play such a high level of tennis.”
Wozniak said she had to make better decisions on the court.
“Sometimes I felt rushed,” she said. “A girl at such a high level is going to make you rush on points. She mixes it up so well.”