Eugenie Bouchard posts second win at Chennai Open

Eugenie Bouchard swings the backhand during her second-round match at the Chennai Open. 

Eugenie Bouchard navigated her way to a second straight victory at the Chennai Open Wednesday night. The Canadian worked through Karman Thandi in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(2) to move past the second round on center court at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Complex. It was the first time since March 13, 2021, that the 28-yeat-old scored back-to-back WTA match wins.

The Canadian posted her first official victory this season, making it to the second round of the Chennai Open. Her efforts to defeat Joanne Zuger of Switzerland took a lot of energy in the opening set until she managed to close it out in the second. It was 546 days since her last WTA victory after suffering a shoulder injury took her down for that amount of time. Though she never faced Thandi before, Bouchard eyed another victory after her opponent put in a lot of time in her three-set battle with Chloe Paquet. A cramp nearly came to the Indian during that victory, hoping to not have the same occur in their fight for a quarterfinal.

Bouchard put together a terrific response to Thandi’s service, jumping ahead of the Indian on the score before capturing the break. Her service game was challenged in the second as Thandi anted up on her forehand shots, hitting back hard against the Canadian. The competition got fierce through four breaks of deuce until a late gain of control for Bouchard helped her consolidate.

The 24-year-old had a few kickbacks with her serve, erring on the backhand to give Bouchard a break to love in the third. By the half-hour mark, the 28-year-old continued to look comfortable with her serve while gaining a 4-0 lead on her opponent. The Indian suffered a double fault on serve in the fifth, indicating that she had little grip of control. Forcing deuce opened the door for Thandi to hunt down the AD point, and after three attempts, she secured her first game of the set.

Bouchard pressed on to reach 5-1, threatening to take the set at any moment. Thandi didn’t want that to occur on her serve, preventing a set point for Bouchard to force deuce and closing it out on a break. Bouchard came into the seventh, keeping herself at the pace she wanted her game to be. Having two set points to play on, the Canadian held the last one to fire an ace down the T, to take the first set in 48 minutes. Bouchard bested Thandi on first and second serves, winning points from both sides, including the breakpoints.

Knowing she had to bring out more, Thandi battled the struggles of her serve and opponent. She and Bouchard went 14 minutes in the opening game that spanned only nine points, but two double faults made it harder for the 24-year-old. Thandi held the two AD points played and put the game to rest on a winner, leading the way. Bouchard kept her service game shorter, overcoming a small deficit to dictate her service hold.

The two held through four games until a move from Thandi put her out front. The 24-year-old scored a key hold in the fifth, giving Bouchard far fewer opportunities. Gaining the lead added confidence to Thandi, who managed to break the Canadian and hold again for a commanding 5-2 lead. The Indian had the finish line of the second set on her horizon, but getting the double break was denied.

Bouchard made sure to find the AD point after Thandi forced deuce and keep her hopes for a straight sets result alive. She still had two games to overcome, and on Thandi’s serve, she drew errors to bring up a set point. Thandi had a miscue during the rally, where a shot hit the net and fell into the tramlines. After saving a second set point, Bouchard went on the offensive and gained AD points, gaining her another chance at tying the score on serve.

Bouchard succeeded in her mission of leveling the score through ten decisions, putting Thandi in a spot to jump back out or suffer under a losing streak. Thandi worked through the service, fighting Bouchard on every point that assisted in edging through the 11th. Bouchard responded with an important service game, holding Thandi to a pair of points. With the tiebreak in place, Bouchard went on to take the first three points before the 24-year-old got onto the scoreboard.

She put some points together but trailed the Canadian, who notched a pair quickly to earn a match point. An error behind the baseline handed the former world number five the victory in 2 hours and 13 minutes, marking a late comeback to maintain strength. “I tried to dominate a lot in the first set, and that’s what worked, and the second she controlled the set a little bit more,” Bouchard said after the match.

“I tried to get back to playing my game towards the end of the second, and thankfully it wasn’t too late to do that, and I was able to come back.” She’ll take the day to rest before awaiting the winner between Nadia Podoroska and Tatjana Maria