Originally scheduled to play on Grandstand on Tuesday before the match was canceled due the weather forecast, the match between Eugenie Bouchard and Evgeniya Rodina was moved to none other than Arthur Ashe Stadium to the surprise of many. A few years ago, Bouchard was a name that was widely popular among fans, but in recent years the Canadian has suffered a downfall in the rankings as she currently stands at number 76 in the world.
Bouchard, who has reached the fourth round of the US Open in 2014 and 2015, also failed to make it through the first round last year. The change of court to the main stadium didn’t inspire the Canadian today as she fought a very tight first set only to play and lose a very erratic tiebreak. The second set wasn’t any better as her opponent benefitted from her continuous mistakes to book her spot into the second round.
The Canadian hit 64 unforced errors en route to losing the match compared to the 18 of the Russian. Evgeniya Rodina defeated Eugenie Bouchard 7-6(2), 6-1 in 73 minutes. She will face Elina Svitolina in the third round.
Rodina takes the opening set in a tiebreak
The Russian struck first as she fired up a series of forehand winners to break Bouchard and lead 2-0. Back on serve, Rodina started with a solid 40-15 lead, but just as fast as she broke the Canadian, she soon found herself in trouble after letting Bouchard come back to the game. A netted forehand handed the break to be back at 2-2. Once again, the Canadian faced break point but she was quick to save it hitting a crosscourt forehand winner and two good first serves to take the game and lead 3-2.
Rodina then went on to hold, only losing one point on her serve. Bouchard was playing at her best when she was in control of the point, but the Canadian refused to abandon the baseline which prompted Rodina to force her to play on the run which resulted in unforced errors that eventually led to a second break. Down on the scoreboard, the Canadian was motivated by the initial errors from the Russian who couldn’t seem able to consolidate the previous game, an opportunity that the Canadian took to retrieve the break.
The momentum carried on with Bouchard as she successfully served to be up 5-4, putting all the pressure on Rodina to stay in the set. However, the Russian showed no sign of nerves as she raced to hold and set the score at 5-5. After an exchange of holds, the first set was forced to be decided in a tiebreak.
A backhand unforced error conceded the mini break to Rodina, who ended up winning both of her serves after two more mistakes from the Canadian. The inaccuracies from Bouchard continued until she managed to score a point following a wide backhand from the Russian. However, Rodina had a significant advantage and two more mistakes from the Canadian gave her set points. Rodina lost one chance, but she finally converted the next firing up a forehand winner to seal the set 7-6.
Bouchard hits 64 unforced errors en route to another first round exit
After an erratic tiebreak, it seemed like things were improving for the Canadian who broke to lead at the start of the second set. Nonetheless, this resurgence was short-lived as Bouchard made four unforced errors in a row to give back the advantage. Back on serve, the Russian didn’t have to do much to win points as they were usually given by her opponent’s errors.
The Canadian fought to hold her serve but at the end, Rodina prevailed and the table turned, putting the Russian ahead 4-1 after she consolidated. A comeback from Bouchard looked unlikely as she continued to hit shots that ended up in unforced errors. Another break occurred and put Bouchard in the unfortunate position to break twice to stay in the match. Bouchard hit her 46th unforced error to put an end to the match.