Denisa Allertova put her best on court at the BNP Luxembourg Open Monday evening. The Czech tennis star put in plenty of work in a three set match against Eugenie Bouchard
winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court at the CK Sport Center S.A. It was a third straight loss for Bouchard who lost momentum at critical points allowing her opponent to run by.
The two got together for a second time this season with the Canadian up a match win on the Czech. Bouchard’s straight sets win in Doha gives her positive vibes to do well again. With the season coming to an end, the world number 46 hoped to get a positive start after losing in the first round at Linz last week. Allertova got to the third round in Austria before losing out to Spain’s Carla Suarez-Navarro. The Czech’s recent success could help her get the best of Bouchard or find herself struggling to manage Canada’s strongest tennis star.
She stayed ahead the 22-year-old Canadian after the second game taking a 3-1 lead. A break from Bouchard came to light that helped her recover from the deficit. The second serve of Allertova completely disappeared committing double faults and unforced errors in the process. Bouchard jumped on her opponent’s vulnerabilities, took back control at the right time to gain leverage, winning the next five straight to win the set 6-3 in 27 minutes.
The Czech star reeled in her earlier problems from the set and took two in a row from Bouchard that included an impressive fight in the first game. Game three saw the second serve coming back to put a damper on Allertova’s progress. It opened the door for the Canadian to get on the board and in position to level in the second set.
Bouchard put the pressure back on Allertova to make her serve work for the best or suffer a bad mistake that could cost her. She picked up another two games that allowed her some room on the scoreboard and push Bouchard to a breaking point. The Canadian picked up another win but couldn’t overtime the margin that handed the Czech the set sending both to the distance in the match.
The players got into a neck and neck race to the finish line with a second round spot waiting for one of them. Bouchard had the lead at one point but soon found her second serve causing her trouble. It allowed the Czech to counter on her opponent’s problems and take back control in the set. She moved out to 4-3 following it up with a second win that had the Canadian on the ropes. Bouchard showed a sense of urgency but was forced to deuce in the ninth. It was there that she struggled to keep up with the big hits from Allertova who put all her might to close out the match in 1 hour and 53 minutes.
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