Bouchard out, Azarenka to Face Stosur

Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky secured her place in the round of 16 of BNP Paribas Open after toughing out a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over Eugenie Bouchard on Monday.
The Swiss World No. 21, a quarterfinalist in Indian Wells last year (l. to S. Williams), took a nasty fall in the first game of the second set and received a medical timeout to have her cuts bandaged. The 26 year old broke her Canadian opponent six times during the contest lasting two hours and 22 minutes.

Bacsinszky will meet Russian Daria Kasatkina, a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) winner over Portugal's Monica Puig. This will be the first meeting between the two players.

After suffering a concussion at the US Open last year, Bouchard played only one one other match for the rest of the season. She has since rebounded to start the year, reaching the quarterfinals in Doha and finals in Kuala Lumpur (l. to Svitolina) and Hobart (l. to Cornet).

"It's a long road back; doing better than expected," Bouchard said. "I feel better about my game. Whether the results come or not."
On Stadium 2, No. 26 seed Samantha Stosur also contested a match that stretched past the two-hour mark. The former semifinalist (’10, l. to Jankovic) edged Christina McHale 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Stosur will next face the 2012 champion, Victoria Azarenka, who was tested from the baseline, but played with flashes of her former No. 1 self in a 6-4, 6-3 decision over 2016 success story Zhang Shuai. Azarenka ended the match on a patented forehand winner crosscourt, letting out a cry of “Come on!” as she sealed the victory.

The Belarusian leads her head-to-head with Stosur 8-1, though they haven’t met in nearly three years. It was the Australian who won that most recent meeting, 6-2, 6-3 in Carlsbad.

Source: BNP Paribas Open

Bouchard Wins Stephens Clash; Muguruza, Wozniacki Fall

Canada's Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, while seeded players Garbine Muguruza and Caroline Wozniacki were among those who made exits on Day 4 of play.
The 22-year-old Bouchard met American Sloane Stephens, also 22, for the first time since 2013. In their second-round battle, Bouchard won 63 per cent of first-serve points and broke Stephens six times. She dropped her serve four times in the encounter lasting one hour and 41 minutes.

“We had some great points, really both going at it, and I was just, I think, a bit more aggressive,” said the Montreal native. “I think that made the difference.”

Bouchard, who has reached two finals (Kuala Lumpur, Hobart) so far this season, meets Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky in the third round.

Christina McHale upset No. 4 seed Muguruza to set up a meeting with another seed, No. 26 Samantha Stosur, who edged Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in a third-set tie-break.


In the final match of the day, No. 14 seed Ana Ivanovic outlasted a hard-hitting Camila Giorgi 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(5), saving two match points while serving to stay in the contest in the 10th game of the deciding set. The 2008 champion will meet Karolina Pliskova next.

Victoria Azarenka defeated Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2 to set up a meeting with Australian Open quarterfinalist Shuai Zhang, a 4-6, 7-6(8), 7-5 winner over 20th seed Caroline Wozniacki, champion here in 2011.

“I'm glad that I was able to go through this match,” said Azarenka, the 2012 champion, who picked up her 18th career title in Brisbane at the start of the season.

Two other seeded players advanced: No. 17 Elina Svitolina, a winner in three sets over Annika Beck, and No. 18 Karolina Pliskova, who ended the run of wild card Shelby Rogers 6-2 6-4.

Source: BNP Paribas Open

Bouchard Defeats Ozaki at BNP Paribas Open

It was a tough opening match for the Canadian who won in three sets after dropping the first one.

Eugenie Bouchard would take on the qualifier Risa Ozaki in her opening match in Indian Wells. This would be the first meeting between both players and it was clear that Ozaki was not nervous about this match as she went to win the first set, but Bouchard showed her fighting spirit and came back to win in three.

Both players held their first serve games to love, but that good start from the Canadian didn’t last too long after she was broken in the fourth game of the set. Bouchard was serving and was up 40-0, but then went to commit five straight unforced errors handing the first break to the Japanese. After winning her second game, Bouchard started to play better and even had a break opportunity that she threw away with two unforced errors.
The Japanese was one game away from taking the first set and she didn’t hesitate to take it on Bouchard’s serve. The Canadian started getting frustrated as she had to save three set points to stay in the set, she saved two of them, but Bouchard’s seventeenth unforced error gave the opening set to Ozaki. 
Before the second set started, Bouchard received some advice from her coach, Thomas Hogstedt. “I don’t know what’s going on,” she said to her coach as what it seemed to be a summary of her performance in the first set. The attitude of the Canadian didn’t seem to be in the best place after speaking to her coach, but she proved to be listening to him as she went on to break in the first game. She was hitting powerful shots, staying behind the baseline and forcing her opponent to run, but especially taking every chance to come to the net and finish the point. Both players held their following serves before exchanging breaks in six games.
It was Ozaki who showed she was hanging tough, breaking Bouchard’s serve after a long game where the Canadian had several opportunities to avoid the break and keep the lead. In the next game, Bouchard punished Ozaki’s slow first serve with a winner return. She only needed one break point to be back on serve and try to win that advantage back. Just like in the last service game, the Canadian had a chance to have a lead but threw it away after handing the break back to the Japanese.
The next two games were also breaks, and it was on Ozaki’s racquet to hold her serve for the first time five games and have a chance to break Bouchard to win the match. However, the Canadian fought to win the break and serve for the set. Bouchard began her service game with an ace and after a few rallies where she played an aggressive tennis she closed the set with her second ace.
Both players held their first serves rather easily just like in the first set, but this time was Bouchard who took the early advantage after hitting a beautiful drop shot followed by a passing shot to win the break. Then the Canadian had to hold a tough game, but she was playing now her best tennis in all the match and not only held her serve, but she went on to break for the second time. Bouchard would hold to be one game away from the second round. Ozaki would hold again in an attempt to come back to the match, but Bouchard was too solid while she served for the match. A long ball by the Japanese handed the win to Eugenie Bouchard who won 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours.
The Canadian started the match with 17 unforced errors in the first set and finished the match with 47 that were compensated with 31 winners. She did two double faults and hit five aces, winning the 61 percent of her first serve. Bouchard also increased her points won at the net where she got eleven out of twenty.
The recent winner in Acapulco will be Bouchard’s next opponent in the second round of the tournament. They have met three times and the American leads their head-to-head 2-1. Their last meeting was in 2013 in Beijing where Stephens won in three sets.

Source: vavel.com

WTA Rankings 7 March 2016

Elina Svitolina has climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 14 after capturing her fourth career title at the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Svitolina - the second youngest player in the top 20 - improved to a perfect 4-0 record in WTA finals, defeating the resurgent Eugenie Bouchard 6-7(5) 6-4 7-5 in a rain-delayed three-hour long battle. It’s the 21-year-old’s fourth title over the last four years and her first since hiring former World No.1 Justine Henin as a consultant last month. Seeded No. 2, the highest-ranked player Svitolina played on her route to the final was No. 133 Risa Ozaki, however the Ukrainian lifted her game when it mattered most, coming back from the disappointment of losing the first set to win in three.

It was another successful week for Bouchard, despite the disappointment of falling at the final hurdle for the second time already in 2016. The Canadian moved up 10 spots to No. 42 on the back of her run to the final, while Bouchard has also now won more matches in two months and seven days than she did during a 12-month span throughout 2015.

Meanwhile over in Monterrey, Heather Watson also improved to a perfect 3-0 record in WTA finals after defeating Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens 3-6 6-2 6-3 at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme. After failing to defend her title in Hobart in January to start the season, Watson dropped to as low as No. 84 in the world. However her win in Monterry has propelled her 31 spots to be on the cusp of the top 50 again at No. 53. Watson dedicated the win to her mother, who was in attendance on what was Mother’s Day back in Great Britain.

Veteran Flipkens - who has been as high as World No. 13 and a former Wimbledon semi-finalist - climbed 14 spots to No. 59 on the back of her final efforts. Caroline Wozniacki - who was the second seed in Monterrey - slipped further down the ranks to No. 25 after losing to Watson in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, in a notable rankings movement near the top of the rankings, Timea Bacsinszky has dropped seven places to outside the top 20 at No. 21 after failing to defend her titles from 2015 over the mini-Mexican swing in Acapulco and Monterrey. Backsinszky had failed to win back-to-back matches this year until a fortnight ago in Doha, where she reached the Round of 16.

There were no rankings changes inside the top 10 as the WTA Tour moves on to Indian Wells this week, where Simona Halep - who has already dropped three spots in 2016 to No. 5 - is the defending champion.

Latest WTA rankings ahead of Indian Wells this week:

1. Serena Williams

2. Angelique Kerber

3. Agnieszka Radwanska

4. Garbine Muguruza

5. Simona Halep

6. Carla Suarez Navarro

7. Maria Sharapova

8. Belinda Bencic

9. Petra Kvitova

10. Roberta Vinci 

11. Flavia Pennetta

12. Venus Williams

13. Lucie Safarova

14.   Elina Svitolina (+5) CH

15. Victoria Azarenka

16. Sara Errani (+1)

17. Svetlana Kuznetsova (+1)

18. Ana Ivanovic (-2)

19. Karolina Pliskova (+1)

20. Jelena Jankovic (+1)

 

Svitolina Wins Malaysian Open Title

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia  — Second-seeded Elina Svitolina came back to beat Canada's Eugenie Bouchard 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5 in the rain interrupted Malaysian Open final on Sunday.
The match finished at midnight local time as rain interrupted play for well over three hours before the 21-year-old won out.
Bouchard and Svitolina were on court for 2 hours 53 minutes between the three rain interruptions before the Ukrainian got a crucial break late in the decisive set to clinch the title.
Svitolina lost the first set in a tight tie-breaker and Bouchard couldn't capitalize on early breaks in the second set.
Despite breaking Svitolina's serve twice early in the second, Bouchard couldn't hold her serve in the eighth and 10th games to lose 6-4 before the final was stretched to midnight due to two long rain interruptions.

Source: WTA Tennis

Bouchard to meet Svitolina in Final of Malaysian Open

Canadian tennis female player, Eugenie Bouchard and ukrainian Elina Svitolina advance in the final of WTA BMW Malaysian Open (K.Lumpur) 2016. Bouchard beats Naomi Broady in straight sets (6-4; 6-3). On the other side, Elina Svitolina defeated chinese Lin Zhu with 2-0 in sets (6-3; 6-3). Tomorrow in final will face Bouchard vs. Svitolina for the no.1 spot in Malaysia.

Eugenie Bouchard Reaches Malaysian Open Semifinals

Eugenie Bouchard of Canada secured a spot in the Malaysian Open semifinals Friday.
The Westmount native beat 128nd-ranked Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey in straight sets 6-1 and 6-4, in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.
It took Bouchard, the sixth seed, under one hour and 31 minutes to defeat Buyukakcay.

Eugenie Bouchard continued serenely its course at the Kuala Lumpur tournament with a victory in straight sets against the Turkish Cagla Buyukakcay. Bouchard, the sixth seed, triumphed 6-1, 6-4 to reach the semifinals. 

The climate in the Malaysian capital represented a challenge for many players this week and they were a physical and mental test for Bouchard.

“It’s more difficult here. It is very humid in Malaysia,” she said. “Sometimes I saw four balls instead of one. I continued to fight, to take the points one at a time and, fortunately, I won in two sets.”

Bouchard will now face the Briton Naomi Broady, who caused a stir by eliminating German No. 3 Sabine Lisicki 7-6 (4), 1-6, 7-5. Bouchard won her only career duel against Broady in 2012 in Florida.

In the other half of the draw, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina will face China’s Zhu Lin. Svitolina recovered after a difficult start to defeat Slovak Kristina Kucova 1-6, 6-1, 6-1. Zhu, after qualifying, beat compatriot Wang Qiang 6-3, 6-4.

Source: WTA Tennis

Bouchard Reaches Quarters in Malaysia

Eugenie Bouchard easily qualified Wednesday for the quarterfinals of the BMW Malaysian Open at Royal Selangor Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur.
Bouchard, who is ranked 52nd in the world and seeded 6th in this tournament, beat Kurumi Nara, 6-1, 6-2 in a little over an hour.
Bouchard will now face the winner of Kai-Chen Chang vs. Cagla Buyukakcay in the next round.

Bouchard and Lisicki Advance in Malaysian Open

Canadian tennis female player, Eugenie Bouchard and german Sabine Lisicki advanced in second round of BMW Malaysian Open (K.Lumpur) 2016. Bouchard beats Ling Zhang with 2-0 in sets (6-3; 6-1). On the other side, Lisicki defeated Magda Linette in straight sets (6-4; 7-6). Next round Bouchard will face Kurumi Nara, while Lisicki will meet Barbora Krejcikova.

Bouchard out of Qatar Open

Canadian tennis female player Eugenie Bou
chard is out from WTA Qatar Total Open (Doha). She got defeated by chinese Saisai Zheng 2-0 in sets (7-6; 6-1). With this win, Zheng reaches quarterfinals in Qatar.

Agnieszka Radwanska and Bouchard Win at Qatar

World no.3, polish tennis female player Agnieszka Radwanska and Eugenie Bouchard advance in WTA Qatar Total Open (Doha).  Radwanska beats Kateryna Bondarenko in straight sets 6-4; 6-4. On the other side, Bouchard defeated Denisa Allertova 2-0 in sets (7-6; 7-5).
 

Bouchard and Petkovic Advance in Doha

Eugenie Bouchard took another step in her comeback on the WTA Tour by battling to a 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Latvian qualifier Anastasija Sevastova in the first round of the Qatar Open on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Canadian, who reached as high as world number five in October 2014, the year when she reached the final of Wimbledon before losing to Petra Kvitova, is now ranked 61st on the WTA Tour.
Bouchard is making a comeback this year after giving a walkover in the fourth round of the 2015 U.S. Open to Roberta Vinci. She had suffered a concussion after slipping and falling down in the locker room.
Bouchard, who is now involved in a legal battle with the United States Tennis Association following the incident, will meet either 15th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine or Czech playwr Denisa Allertova in the next round.
Bouchard, who accepted a wildcard for the tournament, finally won her match after two hours and 28 minutes. She saved nine break points.
"I haven't played a match for some time, so I am glad to get a good, tough outing in the first round," said Bouchard, whose last match was a second-round loss to Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round of the Australian Open.
"I'm just so grateful to be back on tour after a rough end of last season. I'm just so happy to be doing what I love, to be playing in front of the fans, to enjoy this life."
The top eight seeded players, including world No. 2 and Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber of Germany, have a bye to the second round.
Karolina Pliskova, seeded 10th, lost rather tamely to Russia's Margarita Gasparyan 6-1, 6-1 after struggling to get her first serves in during the whole match.
Germany's Andrea Petkovic, a former top-10 player now ranked 28th, continued her domination of Russia's Ekaterina Makarova, beating her 6-3, 6-2 in the last match of the day. She is now 4-0 in head-to-head against her Russian rival.
Croatia's Donna Vekic brushed aside Omani wildcard Fatma Al Nabhani, winning 6-0, 6-0 in 50 minutes.