Eugenie Bouchard pleased her hometown crowd after winning her second round match against Dominika Cibulkova. The Canadian played great tennis and took every opportunity the Slovak gave her. Despite having lost to Cibulkova at Wimbledon, Bouchard showed no signs of weakness in one of her finest matches this year. After winning the first, the Canadian dominated the second set and booked her spot in the third round of the Coupe Rogers. It took only 73 minutes for Bouchard to defeat Cibulkova 6-2, 6-0.
Early break in the set gives Bouchard the first set
Cibulkova opened the match facing three break points, it was a rough start for the Slovak who double faulted to hand the break to Bouchard. The Canadian then consolidated the break with her serve, despite the efforts of Cibulkova who was starting to find her pace. After that being broken at love in that opening game, the Slovak managed to now hold to love to get on the scoreboard, but the Canadian still led 2-1.
Bouchard gave her opponent a chance to break back after missing a volley, but the Canadian managed to save it hitting a great passing shot. A second chance to win the break back happened after Bouchard hit a wide forehand, but the Slovak wasted another opportunity hitting an unforced error. The Canadian eventually managed to hold and keep her lead of 3-1.
Despite an easy hold, the Slovak was still a break down and her opponent didn’t seem to drop her level. Once again, Bouchard had to fight to survive another tough game of serve, however, this time, the Canadian didn’t face any break point to extend her lead to 4-2. A double fault gave Bouchard the chance to break and get an opportunity to serve for the set. The Canadian got the second break after a long ball from the Slovak. A failed return gave Bouchard a hold to love and the first set, 6-2.
Bouchard dominated the second set
In a replay of the opening game of the first set, Cibulkova once again lost her serve after hitting a double fault. A big forehand gave the Slovak a chance to recover the break, but the Canadian saved the two break points to force a deuce. Despite having five break points, Cibulkova couldn’t break Bouchard and the Canadian consolidated the break to lead 2-0.
After a lengthy hold, the Canadian looked more motivated and that was shown when she got herself two break points. However, this time, the Slovak saved them but Bouchard didn’t give up and after two more break points, she finally broke to extend her lead to 3-0.
Having won six games in a row, Bouchard was going through some momentum as she held again to be up 4-0. After losing that second game and then get broken again, Cibulkova seemed to have lost her focus and confidence as she tried to hold and get on the scoreboard in this second set. However, Bouchard was playing outstanding tennis and broke to love to have the chance to serve for the match. The Canadian held her nerve and hit a forehand winner to seal the match with a scoreline of 6-2, 6-0.
Next for Bouchard
In the third round, Bouchard will meet qualifier, Kristina Kucova who defeated Carla Suarez Navarro to book a clash against the Canadian. This will be their second meeting, they previously met in 2014 at a Fed Cup tie in which Bouchard won in three sets.
