MONTREAL - Feisty, hard-hitting Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount put in a determined effort against world number nine Angelique Kerber Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Open, but fell just short, as her German rival prevailed 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
After splitting sets, Bouchard, 19, fell down by a break early in the third set of the second round match.
The two battled hard in some lengthy rallies in the third but Bouchard was unable to get the break back and fought off four match points before finally succumbing to Kerber.
Bouchard, who is currently ranked 59th in the WTA rankings, proved that she could trade hard shots against the highly-ranked Kerber, dominating many rallies and forcing her opponent to scramble and take long breaks to catch her breath.
Neither player had a lot of luck on their serve as Bouchard was broken seven times and Kerber six.
Bouchard, clad in the same black-white-and-grey tie-dye style dress that she wore in her first round victory over Karolína Plíšková, served harder than Kerber throughout but managed only two aces and also hit seven double faults, compared to just three by her rival.
The youngster from Westmount, a wealthy suburb adjacent to downtown Montreal, also had difficulty getting her first serve on target, getting in only 47 percent of her first serves in, while Kerber was able to get 68 percent of her serves in.
Bouchard swatted an impressive 41 winners but also made 43 unforced errors in the match that was originally slated for Wednesday but was deferred to Thursday due to rain.
Bouchard won total 96 points, against 98 for Kerber.
Blainville's Aleksandra Wozniak laer lost 6-3, 6-1 tp two-time slam winner Victoria Azarenka.
Canadian Milos Raonic crosses swords with the Spaniard Pablo Andujar while Frank Dancevic duels with Tommy Robredo later Thursday.
