ROME, Italy – Former World No.5 Eugenie Bouchard emerged on top of a match that featured 14 breaks of serve against former No.1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, to advance into the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber looms as her next opponent.
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“I think I’m still on that journey of trying to, you know, be the best player I can be,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I feel like I have been working hard every single day, and I feel like I have good guidance, I’m on the right path.
“So I think it’s just making sure I still continue to believe in myself, and, you know, trusting that if I do all the right things, if I work hard, if I have the talent, if I have good guidance, you know, one day it has to come.”
The 2014 Wimbledon runner-up recovered from an early break to win four of the next five games and clinch a one-set lead, but twice fell behind a double break to Jankovic, who was playing her second match on clay in 2016 thanks to a right shoulder injury. The Serb recently reunited with Ricardo Sanchez, with whom she’d worked at the time she finished 2008 No.1 in the world, and went on to level proceedings at a set apiece.
“I played well on several occasions, and I think I did pretty well in that second set,” Jankovic told press after the match. “I think mentally and as well physically I went down in that third set. I was getting physically tired and then mentally, as well, because I haven’t been playing matches, and as well I lost a little bit of strength and just being on the court for a while.
“It’s only my second match since Indian Wells, so it’s been a while since I have been competing on a daily basis and just being out there.”
For her part, Bouchard – who also returned to former coach Nick Saviano – had lost a similarly topsy-turvy three-setter at the Mutua Madrid Open to Irina-Camelia Begu; undaunted in Rome, she raced ahead 3-0 in the decider and never looked back, hitting 29 winners in the nearly two-hour match to 32 unforced errors, and winning 12 of her 16 approaches to net.
“I knew it would be a tough battle. I have played her a couple of times before, and, you know, she gets a lot of balls back. She’s tough. She stays with you. I just had to keep being tough.
“I realized that she started controlling too many points, so in the third set I decided no matter what, you know, even if I make a couple more mistakes I need to step in and go for it. I think that made the difference.”
Earning her first win on red clay this season, the Canadian booked a second round encounter with No.2 seed Angelique Kerber, who is looking to shake off her own early Madrid defeat to Barbora Strycova, and earned a bye in the round of 32.
“I feel like it’s my first year on tour again. I feel like it’s 2013 again where I’m playing all these tournaments almost for the first time and obviously not expected to win these matches.
“So it’s been an interesting experience kind of going back to that, and refreshing, as well, and challenging, as well. I play seeds early on. I go and play smaller tournaments. It’s a different lifestyle for me.
“But I’m grinding and I truly love that. I see it as a challenge.”
