Eugenie Bouchard’s French Open campaign started with a solid performance against Laura Siegemund, with her winning 6-2 6-2 in a dominant display.
Heading into the match as the slight underdog, Bouchard was looking to surprise Siegemund, who went on an incredible run to reach the final of the Stuttgart Open.
In the first meeting between the two, both were confident on holding serve to start before Bouchard broke the German before going on to win the first set.
The second set was much of the same as Bouchard recovered from a break down continued to stamp her authority on the match to take the second set as well, to seal the win.
Genie avoids a repeat
In a match where many expected her to lose, the 22-year-old Canadian was bidding to avoid a first round exit for the second year in a row after bowing out to Kristina Mladenovic in 2015’s tournament.
After an average clay season so far, Bouchard will be encouraged as she moves onto the second round to face Swiss player Timea Bacsinszky who dispatched Silvia Soler-Espinosa.
After reaching the semi-finals in her breakout year back in 2014, she will be confident of beating the Swiss player, stating after the match she is “going to go for it” and she knows that she “can definitely come out on top”.
After a disappointing 2015, the Canadian is enjoying a return to form this year as she works her way back up the rankings.
Siegemund looks forward
Siegemund, on the other hand, bows out on the back of a fruitful clay season which saw her notch wins against grand slam finalists Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci, Agnieszka Radwanska and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
With very few points to defend for the rest of the season, she will be sure to climb the rankings even further.
