After an early exit at the French Open, Eugenie Bouchard was looking to start her grass season with a win at the Ricoh Open Grass Court Championships. The first opponent of the Canadian was Elise Mertens, number 171 in the rankings. However, what looked to be an easy victory for Bouchard turned into a nightmare when the Belgian defeated the former Wimbledon finalist in straight sets.
An Erratic Bouchard Gives Away the Opening
Both players exchanged holds at the start of the match. A very erratic game from Bouchard was enough for the Belgian who broke to love, taking the early advantage over the Canadian. Mertens had to consolidate the break with her serve and after a long game, she did to lead 3-1. Being a break down, Bouchard still had the opportunity to break back and get back in the game, but the Canadian kept making mistakes that cost her a second break.
Bouchard recovered a break after Mertens did a volley unforced error, but that was not enough for the Canadian who again lost her serve in the following game. Now, it was time for Mertens to stay calm and serve for the first set. Mertens had three set points but lost two of them. However, a good serve by the Belgian forced Bouchard to hit a long ball and gifted the set to Mertens 6-2 in only half and hour.
Bertens Dominates Bouchard
It had not been a good day for the Canadian who had lost the first set after a very erratic performance. Bouchard didn’t start the way she would have liked as she got broken to love. Everything was working for the Belgian who looked confident and was ready to take advantage of the mistakes of her opponent, she held to be up 2-0. Nothing seemed to be working for the Canadian who continued making multiple mistakes to gift another break and widened Mertens’ advantage.
The Belgian was dominating every point and without complications held to be up 4-0. Bouchard was still fighting to at least get a game in the set, saving two break points but at the end the Canadian did another mistake to give Mertens the chance to serve for the match. A fantastic display of tennis was being done by the Belgian and it continued in the last game to get three match points, one of them saved by Bouchard. She sealed the match with a clean ace, closing the match 6-2, 6-0 in less than an hour.
Up Next for Mertens
On the next round, Elise Mertens will face the winner of Aleksandra Krunic and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. No matter who wins, this will be their face match again Mertens.