Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in action during the second round at the 2020 Prague Open WTA International tennis tournament
Playing in their first professional events since March, Genie Bouchard and Leylah Annie Fernandez posted some encouraging results this week as they look to reset their 2020 campaigns.
At the Prague Open, Bouchard, who received a wild card into the main draw, managed to reach the quarter-finals. After eliminating the eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova in an effecient straight sets decision the opening round, she knocked out her 2019 Wimbledon conquerer Tamara Zidansek in the second round after two hours and 50 minutes of athletic clay-court tennis.
The former World No. 5 put up a valiant effort in her quarter-final match against an opponent who has caused her significant headaches in the past, but was ultimately unable to overcome No. 3 seed Elise Mertens, falling by a score of 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 – her closest effort against the tricky Belgian.
For her part, 17-year-old Leylah Annie Fernandez won her two qualifying matches to reach the main draw at the Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky. She then caused an upset over the seventh seed Sloane Stephens in the first round before falling to the hard-hitting Shelby Rogers 6-2, 7-5, narrowly missing out on a chance to play Serena Williams in the quarter-finals.
Shell rise into the worlds top 110 next week, a career-high ranking.
This is undoubtedly a great start for our Canadian players!
Next up for our Canadian pros – including our top ATP stars – is the Western & Southern Open followed by the US Open.
