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MONTREAL, ON – JULY 27: Eugenie Bouchard of Canada celebrates a point against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia during day three of the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium on July 27, 2016 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Eugenie Bouchard defeated Dominika Cibulkova 2-6, 0-6. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
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MONTREAL, ON – JULY 27: Eugenie Bouchard of Canada celebrates a point against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia during day three of the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium on July 27, 2016 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Eugenie Bouchard defeated Dominika Cibulkova 2-6, 0-6. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard showed flashes of her best tennis even as she fell to a fourth-round defeat to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus at the WTA Lyon on Wednesday.
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Though the 27-year-old finished on the losing side of a straight-setter, she had her moments in the game, especially in the opening set which went into a tie-break.
Eugenie Bouchard fell to a fourth-round defeat to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at WTA Lyon
It was a moment from the first-set tie-break that the WTA put out on its official Twitter page to show the kind of tennis that Bouchard can still produce, even as she struggles to recover her lost ground in the women’s game.
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The moment in the tie-break shows the Canadian play a stunning rally on serve and eventually win the point with a stunning passing shot on the run.
On the run 💨
Puts away a winner 🔥@geniebouchard | #Open6emeSensML pic.twitter.com/no8FMPX5D3— wta (@WTA) March 2, 2021
Bouchard lands a strong serve which is met with a forehand return. Sasnovich then tries to push her back and run her around by targeting the deep ends of the court. However, the Canadian is equal to the task and reaches a backhand cross-court on her left to unleash a sizzling winner in one motion.
Even as the scintillating piece of tennis is met with the silence in the spectator-less arena in the French city, the commentator on air could be heard responding with a stunned, “Oh, my word!”
Bouchard failed to secure passage to Australian Open main draw this year
That moment in the game wasn’t enough for the Canadian to stay in the tie-break as the Belarussian eked out a 9-7 win to take the first set 7-6.
Thereafter, it was all Sasnovich as she broke the Canadian’s serve to open out a comfortable lead and managed to hold on to it to eventually close out the match in her favor.
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Eugenie Bouchard of Canada reacts during the ladies singles first round match against Risa Ozaki of Japan day three of the 2017 French Open at Roland Garros on May 30, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Despite her loss, Bouchard will take an element of belief and confidence from her opening-set performance into her future battles.
A noticeable slump in form saw the Canadian hurtle down the rankings ladder. She currently sits at the lowly 143rd spot, which, as many would say, doesn’t do justice to her wealth of talent.
Bouchard couldn’t seal her passage to the main women’s draw of the Australian Open this year as she lost her final qualifying match in Dubai. She did play the French Open last year but lost in the third round to eventual champion Iga Swiatek.
Read More: “Really Excited”: Eugenie Bouchard Announces Good News for Fans
