The Canadian Open might not be the last we see of Eugenie Bouchard in professional tennis after all. The 31-year-old, who famously reached the Wimbledon final in 2014, has announced she will retire after this week’s tournament in Montreal.
Fans were braced for her potential departure today after her first-round match against Emiliana Arango. However, in her first WTA 1000 event match this year, Bouchard defied the odds with a stirring display. She beat the Colombian 6-4 2-6 6-2 to set up a clash with 17th seed Belinda Bencic.
Bouchard was emotional after her 300th tour win. Following a huge ovation from her home crowd, she vowed to reverse her decision to retire on one condition, saying: “If I win this tournament, I will not retire.”
That statement prompted further cheers. In her post-match press conference, she then recalled her past meeting with Bencic at the same tournament, and admitted her focus was already on the Swiss star.
“I’ve thought about it a little bit since the match,” she said. “She’s obviously a great player. It’s funny, I played here in Toronto ten years ago, and then she ended up winning the tournament. So, I know it will be a crazy tough match.
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“I’ll probably do stuff in practice tomorrow, kind of thinking about playing against her. She loves to take it early and change direction. So I’ve had some battles against her, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Bouchard’s only warm-up match for the tournament came at a WTA 125 tournament in Newport in the US. She lost in the first round to Anna Sinclair Rogers, and afterwards announced her planned retirement.
The Canadian is best remembered for her breakthrough 2014 season, where she reached the final at SW19 and rose to No.5 in the world. It was also the year of her only WTA tournament win in Nuremberg. Bouchard never reached the same heights again but is hoping to go out with a bang in Montreal.
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk