Bouchard waves

Photo: Martin Sidorjak/Tennis Canada

After qualifying for the main draw of the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday, Eugenie Bouchard secured a third straight victory at the WTA 1000 clay court tournament to reach the second round on Wednesday.

The Montreal native defeated fellow qualifier Dayana Yatremska of Ukraine 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-2 in a match filled with momentum swings and service breaks that extended over two hours. After dropping a tight opening set, Bouchard bounced back in impressive fashion in set two and reeled off six straight games when she trailed 0-2 in the decisive third frame to post her first main draw win in Madrid since 2017.

Bouchard managed to generate 21 break point chances in her return games and converted eight of them. She also won 75% of her first serve points and did not commit any double faults in the entire match.  

In the second round on Friday, the 29-year-old Canadian will face reigning French Open semifinalist and world no. 20 Martina Trevisan of Italy. It will be the first meeting between the two players.

In 2017, the last time Bouchard appeared in the Madrid draw, she posted one of the signature triumphs of her career over Maria Sharapova en route to the quarter-finals.

Earlier in the day, Leylah Annie Fernandez became 15-year-old Mirra Andreeva’s first victim on the WTA Tour on Wednesday at the Madrid Open as the Canadian was stunned by the teen in straight sets.

Fernandez fell behind early in both sets and was never able to recover as she was eliminated with a 6-4, 6-3 loss.

Eyeing her first win on the WTA Tour, Andreeva was rock solid on serve, winning 67 per cent of her total service points. She also came up clutch when it mattered most, converting three of her five break point chances while denying Fernandez five of the six times the Canadian had a look at the break.

Andreeva wasted no time in taking control of the match, ripping a forehand winner for a quick break as she raced out to a 3-0 lead. Fernandez had one chance to get back in the set with a double break point opportunity in the fifth game but was unable to convert.

After the Canadian held serve to start the second set, the 15-year-old caught fire again, taking advantage of some errors from Fernandez to break twice during a five-game run to move ahead 5-1.

Fernandez never goes away quietly and fought to get back into the match, breaking Andreeva as the youngster served for her first tour-level win. But while Fernandez is a master of the comeback, a double break proved too much even for her as the teen closed out the match at the second time of asking.

Three Canadian women remain in the singles draw in Madrid. Rebecca Marino was victorious on Tuesday and will play her second round match on Thursday in Madrid against Elise Mertens of Belgium while Bianca Andreescu, who is competing for the first time since Miami due to injury, has a bye.

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