Eugenie Bouchard didn’t have the start she wanted to at the BNP Paribas Open Wednesday night. The former world number five had a tough day with the second serve that ended her singles run losing to American Sachia Vickery 6-3, 6-4 on Stadium Court One at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
This was a first meeting between the two stars who have experience playing in the California desert conditions. With the first round in high heat conditions, the speed of the ball would be fast for the players taking center stage at the tournament. Bouchard hoped to take care of business since her quarterfinal finish at Taipei and a first round loss at Indian Wells last year. Vickery returned to the main draw for the first time in three years with the hope of besting her second-round finish back in 2015.
She opened the match with a break in the second that took them to deuce with an error from the Canadian. She made it 2-1 holding serve in the third putting together a solid offense. Bouchard leveled the set at two all but fell back with Vickery leading the way 3-2. She got another break on the 24-year-old who gave up another game on serve. Breaks began to run for the two that gave the Canadian a shot at regaining lost opportunities.
Vickery built up a stance that came up huge in the eighth as the American teen took one from Bouchard on a great finish to the rally for game point. Serving for the set, Vickery went to deuce but watched as Bouchard landed another unforced error long of the baseline to end the first in 38 minutes. Plenty of missed chances led to the demise of the set as she missed three chances to gain break points on the teen and had a second serve below 10 percent. Vickery’s didn’t have a dominant moment either but the problems of her opponent led her to dictate.
Bouchard tried to bring something together with her hold of serve but as the 18-year-old got back on the ball, she took off and gained a break in the third to lead once more. Bouchard earned a shot and succeeded at leveling the set but another break didn’t help her cause. Vickery gained an edge taking another break from Bouchard taking the lead back. The 24-year-old gave it her all but the problems were hard to hold back during critical moments.
It was a 4-2 run for Vickery who had her sights on the match win with Bouchard on the ropes. The Canadian’s second serve was still a problem landing 3 of 16 through six and trouble on her return game. She battled in the seventh to keep her hopes up but she found herself down 0-40 in the eighth game losing on a winner from Vickery landing out of reach. Bouchard served to stay alive doing so with some aggression sitting a game down. The teen had a shot at serving it out for the match and gained triple break point winning on an unforced error that ended her tournament for Bouchard in 1 hour and 29 minutes.
“I just tried to play smart against her and take my chances when I had the opportunity,” Vickery said to Andrew Krasny after the match. She’ll have an even bigger challenge on her hands as she faces Garbine Muguruza in the second round Friday. “She’s tough,” Vickery said. “I’m just gonna try to take in everything I can from today and try to be ready for the next match physically and mentally.”
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