Bouchard unable to move beyond first round in New York

Genie Bouchard was the first Canadian player to take to the courts in the final Grand Slam of the year in New York.

In the bottom half of the women’s singles draw, Bouchard was facing the 12^th seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in her opening round match. A tough early opponent for the Canadian, as Sevastova reached the semi-finals last years and the quarter-finals on two other occasions.

This was the fourth career meeting between the two players, as Sevastova lead their head to head with two wins and one loss. Their most recent encounter was over two years ago in the second round at the 2017 French Open.

Bouchard was broken at the start of the match and quickly found herself facing a 4-0 deficit. Despite a valiant effort at a comeback, she was unable to get herself back into the opening set. The Canadian experienced some difficulties while on serve, committing four doubles faults.

The start to the second set was identical to the opener, as Bouchard was broken in the first game. The players would go on to exchange breaks in the next two games, with Sevastova coming out with a slight edge. It would be all she needed to take the match, eliminating Bouchard by a score of 6-3, 6-3.

In her seventh appearance at the US Open, Bouchard was unable to reach the second round for only the second time. Her best performance at the final Grand Slam of the year came in 2014 and 2015 when she reached the fourth round.

*Feature photo: Peter Power/Tennis Canada.