Early French Open singles exit for Pospisil, Bouchard
Feature photo via @rolandgarros on Twitter
It was a terrible Tuesday for Canadian singles tennis at Roland Garros, where Vasek Pospisil and Eugenie Bouchard each suffered a first round exit.
In one of the early matches of the day, Pospisil lost to Joao Sousa of Portugal in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-1. The Portuguese player was efficient on clay, winning 83% of his first serve points to Pospisil’s 52%. There was also a large gulf in unforced errors between the players, with Sousa committing just 16 to Pospisil’s 45 mistakes.
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Vasek Pospisil at the Davis Cup earlier in 2015.
All is not lost for Pospisil however, the Canadian will feature in doubles this week, where he and American partner Jack Sock are the second seed and are expected to challenge for the title.
On the women’s side, a frustrating season for Bouchard has spilled into the clay courts of Paris, where she lost in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to Kristina Mladenovic. The French player wasn’t spectacular, committing 21 unforced errors (to Bouchard’s 24) over two sets, but managed to win 77% of her first serve points, an area where Bouchard struggled with just 51%. The 21-year old Canadian – who was a French Open semifinalist last year – faced 10 break points, five of which were converted by her opponent.
Eugenie Bouchard at Roland Garros 2014 (photo via rolandgarros.com).
After winning the first set, Mladenovic marched out to a 5-0 lead in the second. Although Bouchard won the next four games, it truly was a case of too little, too late, to salvage the first round tie.
Bouchard will remain at Roland Garros to compete in mixed doubles with partner Max Mirnyi of Belarus.
The top singles player from Canada, Milos Raonic, pulled out of the French Open with a foot injury.
