This marked the third time the two met and the first in three years. Bouchard took both of them in succession during the 2018 season, walking into Monterrey with a lot of good momentum. Despite losing out on a WTA final in Guadalajara Saturday, the 27-year-old didn’t let that beat her down. It was a week of big improvements, lots of fighting, and dictating a pace through some of her wins. With a new tournament in front of her, the Canadian looked to handle Zhu the same as before and start off right.
Bouchard had to defend breakpoints during her service game, leading Zhu to take the opening lead. The Chinese player slipped on her service, allowing Bouchard to break back in the second. She fared better during her second game on serve, allowing Zhu just one point before going for more. The Canadian nearly had a break to love in the fourth but took it on a bad forehand error from Zhu.
She hoped to consolidate the double break with a 4-1 lead, but a missed forehand opened the door for Zhu, who scored the break back. A great finish for Bouchard in the sixth saw her running for a return near the net, scoring the triple break on a lobbed pass into Zhu’s end. She had the two-game cousin and opened the seventh with a great response, scoring on backhand return. She fired in an ace, reached 40-0 on an error from the Chinese, and took a 5-2 run with a return from Zhu falling long of the baseline.
Trailing three games, Zhu knew she had to hold serve to extend the set and with an easy run-through, she notched her first of the set. She got ahead on Bouchard’s serve in the ninth, bringing in angled shots that helped her put pressure. Bouchard felt it but fought her way to deuce. It would be a double fault that would kill her chance to close it out, giving Zhu a chance to level with the score 5-4.
The Chinese star pulled off the comeback, maintaining a service game that kept Bouchard back, pressing more games to be played. Zhu consolidated the important hold of serve with a break of Bouchard, who couldn’t find a way to deliver a redirect of control in the rallies. Her momentum piled on top of the Canadian clinching a strong finish with the service to love. It was a 47-minute roller coaster for the former world number five, who lost control and the opportunity to lead early. Bouchard’s first serve suffered greatly where she barely won 50 percent of shots from that and the second serve.
With much to do in the second, she battled back Zhu, who wanted to keep things going only to fall behind. Her service game was nonexistent in the second, finding herself down 0-40. She miraculously reached deuce on Bouchard’s missed opportunities and hold serve. The Canadian didn’t let that bother her as she held well in the third before Zhu followed her making it two-all. They played six service games in a row as they played so tight with one bound to fall off her mark.
It came for Zhu in the seventh, as they reached deuce where she took the AD point on the second break to win it on a long ball. With a break in the set achieved, the Chinese player had a key 4-3 lead, with service in play. Before they could resume, Bouchard called out the Physio to check on her neck. Her blood pressure was also checked out and it was determined that she was feeling slightly dizzy.
Despite her ailments, Bouchard stuck it out, playing defense against Zhu, who wanted to get through her service with a hold. The two played to deuce where it took them 18 minutes, 12 breaks, and six breakpoint attempts before Bouchard was the one coming out on top. It leveled the score to four-all with the Canadian serving for the lead. She served remarkably well, putting Zhu on the edge of seeing a deciding set coming to fruition.
The Chinese player served to extend in the tenth, but the first serve let her down early. She prevented giving Bouchard breakpoint chances, scoring a centering winner to press the second set further. The Canadian scored a huge serve to love in the 11th, taking the nerves off herself and adding trouble for Zhu to hold and send them to a tiebreak. She did just that, pulling off a lob near the net that set up game point and soon the win.
Bouchard gave up a mini-break to start things off and broke back with a long ball from Zhu. She recovered on the third point, breaking back Bouchard for a 3-1 lead. The Canadian cut the lead in half after the sixth point, scoring a line drive away from Zhu. The Chinese player inched closer after nailing a smashed crosscourt before reaching match point on a wide return from Bouchard.
The Canadian saved one, but with Zhu serving for the victory, she fell in a rally with a forehand crosscourt landing wide into the tramlines. It was a hard win for Zhu, who saw her efforts pay off in two hours and eight minutes.
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