Bouchard out, Raonic advances Down Under

Eugenie Bouchard’s latest run at grand slam glory is over after falling 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to Coco Vandeweghe in the third round of the Australian Open.

Vandeweghe became the first woman through to the fourth round at Melbourne Park by rallying from a break down in the third set. The American fought off four more break points at 4-4 before closing out the match in two hours 22 minutes to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open for the first time.

Vandeweghe’s new doubles partner, Martina Hingis, cheered her on throughout the match. Afterward, the American joked Hingis might scold her for playing “too long to be fresh for the doubles.”

The American is ranked higher than Bouchard, but the Montreal native had been playing well and was aiming to get back to the fourth round at a major for the first time since 2015.

Meanwhile, third-seeded Milos Raonic beat Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Thursday.

Raonic clinched the win on his second match point when Muller returned a shot wide. The product of Thornhill, Ont., has reached the third round all seven years he has played in the Australian Open.

Raonic will next face No. 25 Gilles Simon, who beat Rogerio Dutra Silva in straight sets. Raonic is 3-1 against Simon, but the Frenchman won their most recent encounter back in 2015.

“I know a lot about his game,” Raonic said. “I’ve got to serve well, I’ve got to be aggressive and take it to him, because the last thing I want to do is get into a game of playing long rallies with him.”

In men’s doubles, Toronto’s Daniel Nestor and his partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France downed Andres Molteni and Diego Schwartzman 6-0, 6-4 to advance to the second round.