(Rome) Eugenie Bouchard lost 7-6 (4), 6-3 to Hungary’s Dalma Galfi in the first round of qualifying at the women’s tennis tournament in Rome on Monday.
It was the second career match between the two players, but their first on clay. The 29-year-old Quebecer had beaten Galfi 6-3, 6-2 in qualifying for the Ostrava tournament in the Czech Republic in 2022.
Bouchard, who is currently at 233e world level in singles, lost after one hour and 46 minutes of play in front of Galfi, who occupies the 91e rank.
Galfi, the seventh seed in the qualifying table, will meet in the next round with American Taylor Townsend, 17e first in the series.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s Katherine Sebov lost 6-4, 6-3 to Russia’s Polina Kudermetova in the first round of qualifying. Kudermetova will meet Poland’s Magdalena Frech, 10, in the second rounde first in the series.
Quebec’s Leylah Annie Fernandez will face Belarus player Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round of the main draw later this week.
For her part, Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu, 24e seeded in the tournament, had a bye to the second round. She will cross swords there with the winner of the first round match between the Estonian Kaia Kanepi and the Czech Marketa Vondrousova.