TORONTO — Eugenie Bouchard was hailed as the new face of women's tennis just 12 months ago but the Canadian's downward spiral continued on Tuesday with a humbling 6-0 5-7 6-2 loss to Swiss Belinda Bencic in the opening round of the Rogers Cup.
Home fans had come out in force to cheer on the 21-year-old but had little reason to get excited as the error-prone Bouchard fell at the first hurdle for the eighth time in 10 tournaments.
Despite the disappointing run, Bouchard was eager to salvage something positive from her evening's work, latching onto the fact she was able to overcome a listless opening set to win the second and force the match to a decider.