Eugenie Bouchard yesterday provided relief from a deluge of bad injury news in the women’s game ahead of the Australian Open, as the Canadian won 6-2, 6-1 against Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the Hobart International.
The former No. 5 is on the comeback trail since sustaining a concussion, with the Shenzhen Open last week being her first tournament since.
Bouchard, 21, who reached the semi-finals of the 2014 Australian and French Opens before playing in the final at Wimbledon in the same year, suffered a big setback at the US Open last September.
She sustained a head injury after slipping in the locker room and was forced to pull out of her fourth-round match at Flushing Meadows with a concussion, which also forced her to withdrew from an event in Wuhan, China later that month.
“I was feeling pretty solid out there,” Bouchard said after her latest win.
“The foundation of my game is to be really aggressive, but I also want to have that balance with consistency and I think I did a good job of that today.”
Bouchard lost just 14 points on serve in her first win in three attempts against the more experienced American.
“It was nice to get a win against her finally,” Bouchard said. “She’s a great player and I was really aware that when she came to the net she is really solid, so I was just always trying to pass her.”
Bouchard said before her first match in Hobart that she had “zero expectations” for the tournament as she eases back into competitive tennis after the four-month layoff.
However she was impressive against US veteran Mattek-Sands, taking 57 minutes to dispose of the one-time tournament finalist, just as many leading Australian Open contenders deal with injuries.
Daria Gavrilova, who teamed with Nick Kyrgios to win Australia’s first Hopman Cup title in Perth last week, became the latest player to withdraw from the Sydney International yesterday, due to an abdominal injury.
“If I had a bit more time, I would be fine, but it’s just a bit sore, so it’s a bit of a precaution,” Gavrilova said.
“It’s not great timing, but I’m not too worried, because it’s early days. I should be fine for Australian Open,” she added.
Defending champion and world No. 5 Petra Kvitova withdrew from the tournament on Sunday due to a stomach virus and was joined a few hours later by second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who cited a leg injury.
Last week, the world’s four top-ranked women retired or withdrew from tournaments due to injuries: No. 1 Serena Williams (Hopman Cup, knee); second-ranked Halep (Brisbane, ankle); No. 3 Garbine Muguruza (Brisbane, foot); and fourth-ranked Maria Sharapova (Brisbane, forearm).
The addition of Kvitova and Radwanska leaves the six top-ranked women all under injury clouds ahead of the Australian Open, which starts on Monday next week.
ASB CLASSIC
At the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, the US’ Jack Sock took only 43 minutes to beat Victor Estrella Burgos 6-0, 6-4 to claim his place in the second round. World No. 26 Sock took the first set in only 17 minutes, finishing it with his fifth ace, then won the second set with a single service break and without facing a breakpoint.
“I came out in difficult conditions today for everyone, with the wind swirling a little bit and the court fast, and I’m happy to get through,” Sock said.
Canada’s Vasek Pospisil ousted seventh-seed Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Andy Murray is also in Melbourne hoping a long lead-in to the Australian Open will help him in his quest to win the tournament at last, after four appearances in the final.
“I love playing here and I’ve played some of my best tennis here,” Murray said yesterday. “If I keep working hard and giving myself opportunities, hopefully I’ll be able to win.”
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