The Canadian showed her strengths in the three sets that Daria Gavrilova forced her into. With a lot of time on court during shutdowns, the 26-year-old eyed further advancement while playing well in Paris. While not having any experience against the Pole, Bouchard would rely on what she had tuned up to make it back to the second week of action since 2014. Swiatek was still unbeaten in her last four sets, giving one the indication that she would defend that streak or be in heavy competition with Bouchard.
She opened service, breaking the Canadian and notched a hold to serve, giving Swiatek the early lead. Bouchard got on the board with a service hold in the third as she came from 15-40 to the first AD point won. A fight to bring her back to level pegging occurred in the fourth as Swiatek had offensive errors to produce her breakpoints. She turned it around with an ace before overcooking a shot, handing Bouchard a second break. Another return long sealed the win for the 26-year-old as she served to the Polish teen.
Swiatek continued to lead with her hold in the fifth before going for a break in the following game. Opening a 40-15 run on the Canadian, the 19-year-old watched Bouchard swing her return into the net, giving her a two-game gap. Bouchard battled to hold her end, but the leverage remained with Swiatek who produced the winners that kept her out front after eight games.
The 26-year-old served to extend the set but fell into a hole giving Swiatek set points. Bouchard saved one but caught a bad beat with her return hitting the net and bouncing out of bounds to end the first in 41 minutes. It was the eighth unforced error committed by Bouchard but the real beating she received was the 20 winners that Swiatek produced that gave her so much control. She served 64 percent for points on the first and won four of five from the net to go into the second with confidence.
Swiatek continued on her merry way, opening the second with a hold of serve. Attacking Bouchard’s service game got the teen to deuce where chances for the break earned her a two-game margin. Bouchard’s second try on serve helped her lock it down and end the short winning streak for Swiatek. Consolidating her win with a break of the teen was a sign of good fortune for the Canadian, but managing the third win was not. Swiatek upped her defense to hold serve in the fifth against Bouchard who continued to trail.
She suffered a break in the sixth, giving Swiatek the 4-2 lead that inched her closer to the match. With a grip on Bouchard, she went for a big hold in the seventh, allowing the Canadian a single point before hammering a crosscourt winner. In her attempts to save the end from coming, Bouchard instead gave Swiatek free points on her errors. Another one landing long brought up double match points for the teen who took her victory in 1 hour and 14 minutes with Bouchard’s return landing wide.
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