Eugenie Bouchard rallies to victory in three sets over Daria Gavrilova at the French Open

 

Genie Bouchard swings big in her second round match against Daria Gavrilova at the French Open Wednesday. 

Eugenie Bouchard showed a lot of fight that carried her to another win at the French Open Wednesday. The Canadian overcame a loss of control in the first set against Daria Gavrilova, finding her moment of attack in the next two to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 on Court 13 at Roland Garros. It was the tenth win overall since the restart for the 28 year old, who gained another footing in the tournament. 

The pair met up for the first time in WTA action with each well aware of the other’s game. The Canadian showed major improvements that led to her victory over Kalinskaya on Sunday. With a step forward that matched her reach in 2016-17, the 26 year old had her eyes on going further with what she has offensively. The Aussie recently took down Dayana Yastremska in her opening round and would no doubt try to pull off an upset to not only her opponent but the contingency behind her. 

She opened the match with a break of Gavrilova who had the second serve in play to assist her first. Despite the loss, Gavrilova broke back but was unable to consolidate when she returned to service. Bouchard got a leg up on the 2-1 lead, holding serve in the fourth with just two points going to the Aussie. The Canadian had the triple break in hand, forcing deuce to take the first AD point. 

Just when it all looked well for the 26 year old, Gavrilova struck back in the sixth breaking Bouchard. It was the beginning of a sea change for the Australian as she held well in the seventh before scoring the double break that made it four-all. With all her ground lost, Bouchard struggled to push for the break in the ninth. She battled back Gavrilova in the tenth forcing the set deep with plenty of reaction and speed to win the break on deuce. 

With things level since the second game, the Canadian faced Gavrilova’s service that saw her gain one point and fall back to need a hold that would force a decider. She couldn’t overcome the need to hold her ground against the Australian, who forced deuce and produced break point chances. A second try against Bouchard worked out as she took the lead 59 minutes with the momentum flowing her way. 

Bouchard changed that in the second, breaking Gavrilova with a winner. The Canadian consolidated it with a hold in the second. The Australian held in the third to get on the board, but once Bouchard was back on the ball, she laid down three winners in a row to go on to take the fourth. She held on to the gap to the seventh, carrying a three game lead on her opponent. Gavrilova rallied back on deuce in the eighth, winning the third break with a winner on Bouchard for the break. She consolidated to get back within reach but the Canadian star ran the tenth, ending the set in 48 minutes. 

With her strong momentum, the former semifinalist in Paris fought Gavrilova in the first but fell on her one try for the break. Gavrilova held after the second break with a winner, making sure she set the bar first. Bouchard followed along until the fifth when she easily broke the Aussie for the 3-2 lead. A hold in the sixth opened the gap that was necessary to defend the rest of the decider. Gavrilova added another win in the seventh, but her opponent had the offense well under control, scoring a pair of winners to sit up 5-3. Three winners and an unforced error came from the Canadian but after 2 hours and 24 minutes, Bouchard had another match win under her belt.