Bouchard closes out first win over Fernandez in style at Credit One Bank Invitational

Eugenie Bouchard put a long losing streak behind her at the Credit One Bank Invitational Thursday night. The 26-year-old fought hard through every point with teenage sensation

Leylah Fernandez winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 at Volvo Car Stadium at the Family Circle Tennis Center. The much-needed victory gave Team Peace a six-all tie on Day Four of action.

The two Canadians met for the first and with the opportunity to play tennis, the two were committed to being on the court. Bouchard hadn’t played since her Newport Beach exit in the opening round and knew that no matter what the situation, she had to put together a strong output in returning to action. Fernandez recently finished the Grand Slam Tennis Tours Matchplay and won three out of five. With her fourth in a row coming at Charleston, the 17-year-old looked to keep the winning streak going.

She opened the match with an impressive service game against Bouchard and kept at it on the returns. She threatened early with a breakpoint but the 26-year-old forced deuce to keep the opportunities alive to hold service. After three breaks, it was Fernandez well in control of breakpoints to achieve a 2-0 lead. The Canadian teen won a third straight before Bouchard dug in and managed to lock it down the fourth.

Despite losing out on the game streak, she picked up right where she left off, holding Bouchard to a point while serving. The 26-year-old rallied to cut into Fernandez’s lead and made a statement with a second straight win showing tremendous fight in the seventh. She leveled at four all against the 17-year-old who let a second straight game get away from here. The Canadian veteran had three break points in the eighth but unforced errors and a great net-front shot from Fernandez made it deuce instead.

Control for the lead was becoming fierce between the two as they spanned 16 minutes and went eight breaks before Bouchard was the one to break Fernandez. With the strong accomplishment, the 26-year-old finished off the 17-year-old with two set points, completing the opening set in one hour and four minutes.

Confidence grew for Bouchard who came back from the set break and held serve in the second game. She consolidated a break in the third before suffering a break back by the teen. A third consecutive break went the way of the 26-year-old to maintain the lead but danger lurked its head once more. Fernandez lurked back for the three-all score adding a fourth straight break. The fifth went to the former Wimbledon finalist who was on a mission to be the victor of the match.

She caught the edge with a terrific hold in the eighth that had Fernandez playing to survive. She gave Bouchard two early points before a double fault gave her opponent a triple match point. The 17-year-old saved two and saw deuce forced by a return from Bouchard go wide. On the second break, Bouchard saw Fernandez double fault once more before it came to an end with the Canadian veteran winning on a double fault concluding 1 hour and 58 minutes.

Mattek-Sands wins match over Puig at Credit One Bank Invitational

Bethanie Mattek-Sands came through well in her match at the Credit One Bank Invitational Wednesday afternoon. The captain of Team Peace gave it her best against Monica Puig of Team Kindness to win 6-1, 6-3 on center court at the Family Circle Tennis Center.

The two haven’t played since last year, and with the pause to the sport, both veterans were excited to get on any kind of court. The Puerto Rican had a lot of recovery since her elbow surgery. Getting any kind of win for Puig would help her fight back to action, especially since last playing in October in Luxembourg. The American got back into singles action last season playing nine matches. With her entry back into the exhibition, she would give the reigning Olympic champion a fight on the green clay.

It certainly went that way in the opening game as Puig challenged the serve of Mattek-Sands

forcing deuce.  After six breaks and aces helping the American, she managed to hold serve to gain a break on the 26-year-old. Puig earned the break back in the third but couldn’t hold serve in her for the second time in the opening set. Mattek-Sands was on a roll with her fourth game win looking to close out the first on serve. With three set points, the 35-year-old put it away with a great forehand while moving into the net, making it hard for Puig to answer.

As the second began, Puig got on the board with a battle with Mattek-Sands getting into another deuce draw, avoiding a lengthy one achieving the first break. Despite her efforts, the American got back to business, taking the next three straight before Puig found a way to get back on track. She leveled the score at three-all earning her second break of Mattek-Sands, but allowed the American to regain the lead in the seventh.

A great service game in the eight put Mattek-Sands closer to a strong win in Charleston getting lucky with a point that saw her low behind the baseline. The 35-year-old finished off the match blanking Puig on serve in the ninth for three match points, giving the victory for Team Peace in 1 hour, and 28 minutes, just before the rain began to fall on the court.