Eugenie Bouchard’s stay in Luxembourg was not destined to last long, as the 19-year-old Westmount tennis star was bounced from the Luxembourg Open in the first-round by Andrea Petkovic, 26, of Germany, who won 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Bouchard, who is ranked 32nd, was the seventh seed in the 32-player tournament, while Petkovic, who was once ninth in the world, is currently ranked 40th.
Bouchard, who is from Montreal, struggled with her serve, getting 50 percent of her first serves in, while Petkovic managed a 69 percent pace.
Bouchard hit only two aces and committed six double faults, against three for Petkovic.
Bouchard said afterwards that she suspects that fatigue might have played a role in her coming up short.
“I’ve played 17 matches in my last four tournaments. Physically and mentally I’m really tired. I’m happy that the off-season has come. Going from outdoors, to indoors, from one continent to the other, with the jet lag, everything changed. It was hard but others played well in the same situation so I’ve got to learn to adapt faster,” she said.
Bouchard said she was satisfied nonetheless with her season, which has seen her rise to among the best players in the WTA.
“I’ve improved a lot. Playing every week against the best players in the world has helped. I also worked very hard to improve on my strokes and all aspects of my game. It was a good season but I want to do better,” she said.
Had Bouchard won her opening-round match, she would have entered the round of 16 against 39th ranked Karin Knapp, from Italy, and then, if the higher seeds prevailed in their matches, Bouchard could have conceivably faced Sabini Lisicki (3) Caroline Wozniacki (1) and finally Sloane Stephens (2) in the finals.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
