Eugenie Bouchard played her first game in almost 17 months, Sunday in Vancouver, and her comeback was victorious. With the help of her compatriot Kayla Cross, she defeated the pair of Italians Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-7 (3) and 10-4.
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The winning pair made no less than eight breaks in 14 occasions in the game. In the first set, she won all four games her opponents started with the balls in hand.
The Maple Leaf duo was themselves broken five times, but still won 63% of rallies when their first ball was in play.
Bouchard and Cross could now face American Asia Muhammad and Japanese Miyu Kato, favorites to win the tournament. However, they will have to dismiss the Spaniard Marina Bassols and the Greek Despina Papamichail in the first round.
Before this WTA 125 tournament, for which the Quebecer received an invitation and in which she will also participate in singles, her last match dated back to March 16, 2021. She then lost to the Chinese Lin Zhu at the Monterrey tournament in Mexico. She then underwent shoulder surgery.