(Photo credit score: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)
Eugenie Bouchard, opening the ultimate event of her profession, earned a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over Emiliana Arango on Monday in her hometown occasion, the National Bank Open in Montreal.
Bouchard, 31, plans to retire after the present occasion. She was ranked as excessive as No. 5 on this planet in 2014, when she reached the ultimate at Wimbledon and the semifinals on the Australian Open and the French Open.
The crowd was firmly behind the veteran Canadian participant.
‘It was electrical on the market,’ Bouchard stated. ‘I had a lot enjoyable. I’m so happy with how I competed and stayed targeted all through the entire match and fought. It was a bodily battle, a psychological battle, and it simply felt superb to play in Montreal in entrance of everybody.’
Bouchard superior to a second-round match in opposition to Seventeenth-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.
In a prolonged first-round battle between two gamers from Germany, Laura Siegemund got here out on prime over Tatjana Maria.
Similar to their three-set thriller in 2023 at Warsaw, Siegemund got here away with the victory. This time, she prevailed 7-5, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2) regardless of Maria incomes eight aces to her one — and registering seven double faults to Maria’s three throughout their practically 3 1/2-hour match.
Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu, ranked No. 33 on this planet, eased into the second spherical with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Coming off a visit to the semifinals in final week’s DC Open, Raducanu staved off 5 break factors in her opening service recreation earlier than profitable the final 5 video games to shut out the primary set. She then earned an important break to take a 5-4 lead within the second earlier than serving out for the match.
‘Elena is an efficient buddy of mine and it is troublesome to play somebody you already know, however I’m pleased with how I put that to at least one aspect,’ Raducanu stated, per Sky Sports. ‘It’s additionally good to again up an excellent week final week in DC.’
Russian qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova misplaced the primary set to 20-year-old Canadian wild card Kayla Cross earlier than discovering her groove and ending out the final two units to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in slightly below two hours. Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva additionally wanted three units to defeat China’s Wang Yafan, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4.
Japan’s Naomi Osaka topped Canadian qualifier Ariana Arseneault 6-4, 6-2.
Hailey Baptiste, Russia’s Anna Blinkova, New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, Czechia’s Marie Bouskova, Germany’s Eva Lys, China’s Guo Hanya, Mexico’s Renata Zarazua and 34-year-old Canadian Rebecca Marino every earned straight-set triumphs.
Other winners have been Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic and Greece’s Maria Sakkari.
–Field Level Media