Bouchard’s comeback ends in tears

BEIJING: -Eugenie Bouchard’s comeback match from concussion ended in tears on Monday when dizzy spells forced her to retire from her China Open firstround match against Andrea Petkovic.

On a day when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was also hit by dizziness, Bouchard lasted just 10 games before retiring from her first match since she slipped and banged her head in the locker rooms at the US Open.

Bouchard skipped last week’s Wuhan Open to continue her recovery, but said she had felt ready for Beijing and was bit- terly disappointed to retire.

“Unfortunately, I did not feel well enough to finish the match,” she said in a statement released by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

“It is really frustrating as I was very much looking forward to playing the China Open. I thought I was physically ready, but unfortunately the symptoms of my concussion came back.”

Bouchard had her blood pressure checked on court and she then sobbed into her towel before rising and walking off, waving grimly to the crowd, with the score at 6-2, 1-1 to Petkovic.

“I just asked her what happened, and she told me that she felt very dizzy,” said Petkovic, who comforted Bouchard as she pulled out.

“Then I asked if it was the same, if it still was the concussion. She said, yeah, it tends to come back when she gets physically very active.”

Earlier Tsonga refused to blame Beijing’s notorious air pollution as he was also hit by dizzy spells before falling at the first hurdle 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to little-known Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer.

The eighth seed was down in the second set when he staggered on court and took a time-out, during which he had his heartbeat checked with a stethoscope and was given medication.