Bouchard Fights Off Kerber
ROME, Italy – Eugenie Bouchard scored her biggest victory of the year to battle past No.2 seed Angelique Kerber 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and claim her first win against a Top 10 player since 2014.
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Ahead of their second round clash, Bouchard showed her introspective side when asked about her 2016 campaign – she has reached two finals but also suffered two first-round losses.
“I think I’m still on that journey of trying to be the best player I can be,” she said in her press conference after defeating Jelena Jankovic. “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, one day it has to come.”
The first big test of that mentality came in the form of Australian Open and Stuttgart champion Angelique Kerber, World No.2. Though Bouchard leads their head to head 2-1 – winning their two most recent encounters – the pair hadn’t faced each other since 2014, the year the Canadian rocketed up the rankings.
The top German came out of the gate playing uncharacteristically flat and error-prone, striking almost two per game in the first set alone. Bouchard took advantage of the free points, employing rock-solid defense to keep returning the ball back to Kerber to keep drawing out the errors.
Bouchard won eight games in a row to put the World No.2 down 6-1, 3-0. Kerber finally got a chance to break for 3-1 in the second set, aided by a costly double fault from the Canadian. That seemed to kick start her comeback into the match: Bouchard struck four errors in one game as Kerber rallied back to level the score at 4-4. A gutsy smash from the back of the court on break point gave Kerber the set.
The German carried her momentum into the decider, breaking early to go up 2-0, but Bouchard got the break right back and the pair were on even footing for most of the final set. A late break at 6-5 gave the Canadian the extra push she needed, and she took the match after two hours and twenty minutes.
“I did feel like I was playing better tennis today, especially at the beginning,” Bouchard said after the match. “That’s how I want to play. That gives me confidence knowing I can play that way against one of the best players in the world.
Despite her victory against No.2 Kerber being her first Top 10 win since her 2014 defeat of then-No.7 Caroline Wozniacki in Wuhan, Bouchard can still find learning moments from the match.
“For sure I’m happy to win, but at the same time I’m disappointed in myself having a lead like I had, you know. I feel like I could have done better in that second set,” she said.
“My goal next time is if I’m in a position like that is to really be more mentally disciplined and keep pushing. Because, you know, these players, if you give them a chance they will come back.”