ISTANBUL -- Canadian qualifier Eugenie Bouchard has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Istanbul Tennis Championship after recording a big upset on Thursday.
Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., beat No. 1 seed and world No. 34 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-2 in the second round of the WTA Tour clay-court event.
The 26-year-old Bouchard, ranked 272nd, recorded her first win in four career matches against the 35-year-old Kuznetsova, who captured the U.S. Open title in 2004 and the French Open crown in 2009.
Bouchard, who won two qualifying matches to get into the main draw, will face world No. 92 Danka Kovinic of Montenegro in the quarterfinals.
In a match that lasted two hours 50 minutes, Bouchard won 67.1 per cent of points on first serve and broke Kuznetsova six times.
A former world No. 5 after reaching the Wimbledon final in 2014, Bouchard has tumbled down the rankings in recent years.
If she loses her next match, Bouchard is projected to rise to No. 216 in the rankings next week. She could move into the top 150 if she wins the second tournament title of her career.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2020.
