Former World No.5 Eugenie Bouchard continued her impressive performance as she beat Viktoriya Tomova 6-2 6-4 in the first round of the Istanbul Open. Tomova was 139 places ahead of Bouchard in the WTA rankings.

Bouchard’s ranking of 272 meant that she had to play the qualifiers. She played against players who were considerably higher ranked, but didn’t drop a single set and had a comfortable victory over 228th ranked Ivana Jorović. She followed it up with a win against 148th ranked Leonie Kung.

It was a fairly easy match for the former Wimbledon finalist. Bouchard seemed patchy on her serve at first, but then took control of it well. She troubled Tomova with her shots and broke the Bulgarian’s serve several times. The Canadian was clinical enough to dispatch any threat from Tomova. This good run on a clay tournament could serve her well for the upcoming French Open, if she is able to qualify.

Bouchard will now play the top seed in Istanbul, Svetlana Kuznetsova in the 2nd round. Kuznetsova leads the head-to-head 3-0. She had won the last encounter between them 6-4, 6-0 in 2017. It will be a tough challenge for the Canadian.

Why is Eugenie Bouchard not playing in the US Open 2020?

Due to her ranking, she missed out on playing the Western & Southern Open and the US Open. She also missed out on a wildcard. And so, she chose to play a challenger event in Prague and now the Istanbul Open.

Eugenie Bouchard was ranked 330 when the season restarted in August. In a bid to improve her abysmal ranking, she had participated in the Prague Open where she reached the quarterfinals. She eventually lost to the runner-up Elise Mertens in a tough three sets. This propelled her to No. 272, and it will further improve as she continues in the Istanbul Open.

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Bouchard has had trouble replicating her 2014 form. She had soared to World No.5 and had reached the Wimbledon final that year. Since then, however, her career has gone downhill. But now, she has vowed to improve her single’s ranking this year and qualify for the important tournaments.

WATCH: Eugenie Bouchard Hits an Insane Passing Shot in Her Recent Match