Frosty Bouchard marches on in Wimbledon qualifying

Former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard took the first step towards the main draw on Tuesday, but her mood was not celebratory.

Published : Jun 26, 2018 20:55 IST

Eugenie Bouchard cut a frustrated figure at Wimbledon qualifying on Tuesday despite winning her opening match in stunning fashion.

In recent years Bouchard has struggled to find the form that saw her reach the 2014 final at the All England Club, her ranking tumbling to 191 – having been as high as number five.

She failed to make the French Open main draw last month but took a confident first step towards featuring at the grass-court grand slam, beating Zhu Lin 6-0 6-2.

However, the Canadian was not in celebratory mood following the win, as she gave a terse on-court interview, responding to questions with brief, one sentence answers.

"I played pretty solid," she said when asked to give her assessment.

Bouchard – who won the first nine games of the match – added: "[I am] really happy, it's important on grass to start well.

"I'm happy to be here."

Bouchard is joined in the second round of qualifying by another former finalist in Vera Zvonareva, the Russian – who lost to Serena Williams in 2010 – beating Eri Hozumi in straight sets.

However, one former runner-up bowed out on Tuesday as Sabine Lisicki was beaten by world number 146 Anna Kalinskaya.

Lisicki has enjoyed her best grand slam results in SW19, reaching the final in 2013 and making the last-eight on four further occasions.

The German is yet to find her form after knee surgery in 2017 and has only played five tournaments this year.

She will not get to compete at the All England Club, though, after being beaten 6-4 7-6 (7-3) by 19-year-old Kalinskaya.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment