It wasn’t easy, but Eugenie Bouchard continued her momentum in the Spanish capital on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Quebecer came from behind to defeat Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the Madrid tennis tournament.
Bouchard, who is currently at 285e world level due to poor performances and numerous injuries in recent seasons, overcame Yastremska after a two-hour, 20-minute marathon match.
She thus signed a third victory in a row on clay in Madrid, after successively defeating the Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo and the American Elizabeth Mandlik in qualifying.
The 2014 Wimbledon runner-up never gave up, despite letting a hard-fought first set slip away. Bouchard also proved to be more opportunistic than her opponent, 149e in the world, on the road to victory.
She notably took advantage of Yastremska’s four double faults, as well as her extreme generosity in a break situation – the 22-year-old Ukrainian conceded nine breaks in 21 occasions, no less. In comparison, the player from Westmount gave up her serve four times in eight opportunities.
In the second round, Bouchard will have an appointment with another strong opponent: the Italian Martina Trevisan, 18e seeded in the tournament.
Fernandez gets caught
Earlier Wednesday, Leylah Annie Fernandez lost 6-3, 6-4 in the first round to 15-year-old Mirra Andreeva.
After her backhand fell inbounds confirming her victory, the Russian raised her arms skyward and covered her face. She couldn’t stop smiling as she made her way to the net, not believing what had just happened.
The one who will celebrate her 16the birthday in three days had just eliminated the finalist of the United States Open in 2021, savoring at the same time her first career victory on the WTA Tour.
Fernandez, the 49e world racket, was messy against the Russian who is at 194e echelon in the WTA rankings, bending over after an hour and 16 minutes on Spanish clay.
The 20-year-old Lavalloise did not seem to be on her plate from the start. She posted a success rate with her first serve of just 59.6%, against 70.1% for the Russian.
Moreover, Fernandez won only 57.1% of the points with his first ball, and 63.2% with his second. By comparison, Andreeva won 68.1% with her first, and 65% with her second.
The Quebecer also lacked opportunism in the key moments of the match, being limited to a single break of service in six occasions. For her part, Andreeva stole Fernandez’s serve three times from five opportunities en route to victory.
It was Andreeva’s first time facing a player in the world’s top 50, despite the fact that she has recorded some good results so far this season. Her first main draw victory lifted her 2023 professional player record to 14-0, after winning back-to-back ITF W60 Series titles.
Andreeva will face Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, 13, in the second round.e seeded in the tournament.
Svitolina back discreetly
Emma Raducanu, who was the 2021 U.S. Open champion, withdrew Tuesday with a right hand injury.
The 20-year-old was due to face drafted Viktoriya Tomova on Wednesday, setting the stage for a possible second-round duel against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The Briton was instead replaced by another drafted player; Austrian Julia Grabher.
Elina Svitolina, a former world No. 3 who played her first match in a WTA 1000 Series tournament in 14 months after parental leave, lost 6-4, 7-5 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
American Amanda Anisimova lost 7-5, 6-2 to Arantxa Rus, while her compatriot Caty McNally lost 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 to Dalma Galfi.