STARNBERG, August 10, 2020
Eugenie Bouchard showed an impressive performance and advanced to the second round of the Prague Open before play was called off for the remainder of the day due to rain. The wild card entry from Canada eased past No. 8 seed Veronika Kudermetova from Russia 6-0, 6-3 at the tennis complex of TK Sparta Praha on Monday.
Bouchard, currently ranked World No. 330, sent down five aces and saved all five break points she faced to score her first clay-court victory since Gstaad 2018 in one hour and 15 minutes.
First round victory for @geniebouchard 👏
She moved past Kudermetova 6-0, 6-3 at the #PragueOpen2020. pic.twitter.com/0MCWLAr7qG
— wta (@WTA) August 10, 2020
“I feel that the first set was tough in almost every game. It’s not like it was a walk in the park,” said Bouchard, quoted by the WTA website. “I’m proud of myself for battling in every single game. It ended up going my way most of the time. I stayed on it every point and didn’t make too many loose errors. I played solid and aggressive, which is what I try to aim for.
“My rhythm was off on my serve in the first set, so I need to look at that. I felt better with it in the second set, so I’m happy I could find a solution.”
Bouchard will next take on the winner of the encounter between Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia and Katerina Siniakova from the Czech Republic.
First-round main draw matches of the WTA International Event, which is held without spectators in accordance with very strict hygiene and safety measures, will continue on Tuesday with top seed Simona Halep in action. The World No. 2 from Romania will open her title bid against Polona Hercog from Slovenia. No. 2 seeded Croatian Petra Martic, who made it into the round of the final four in Palermo, Italy last week, will play 20-year-old Russian Varvara Gracheva.
