Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard falls to Vandeweghe in third round of Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — Eugenie Bouchard wasn’t ready to focus on the positives after failing to reach the fourth round at another Grand Slam tournament.

Bouchard, who was ranked as high as No. 5 in 2014, hasn’t gone past the third round of a major since slipping and falling in the locker-room during the 2015 U.S. Open. She was eliminated early again Friday with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 third-round loss to Coco Vandeweghe.

The American took the match in two hours 22 minutes and was the first player into the round of 16.

“Really disappointed,” the Westmount, Que., native said in her post-match press conference. “Especially because I had so many chances, especially in that third set. You need to try and close out as many of those matches when you get those chances.”

Vandeweghe converted her only break to take the first set but Bouchard, who reached the Australian Open and French Open semifinals and the Wimbledon final in 2014, levelled the match with two breaks in a dominant second set.

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Bouchard broke Vandeweghe’s serve to open the third set and appeared to be in control until the American rallied.

Vandeweghe broke Bouchard to even the score at 4-4 in the third set, helped in the process by Bouchard’s fourth double fault. At 5-5, Vandeweghe kept her serve before disposing of the 47th-ranked Bouchard with a decisive break.

Vandeweghe, ranked 35th, held a 40-21 advantage on winners. She also smashed 11 aces to Bouchard’s four and took 85 per cent of first serve points.

“I came back and I fought and put myself in a position even though I lost the first set,” Bouchard said. “I definitely wasn’t playing my best today, a lot of unforced errors that I certainly don’t expect myself to do, so it was tough.”

Vandeweghe has reached the quarter-finals and the fourth round in the last two years at Wimbledon, but her run to the third round in Australia in 2016 was her best at any major not played on grass.

“It’s just another opponent on the way to achieving my goal,” Vandeweghe said of the intense match. “Anyway I could get it done — I just wanted to get the result. Achieved my goal.”

Vandeweghe will next play defending champion Angelique Kerber after the German beat Kristyna Pliskova 6-0, 6-4 to advance to the fourth round.

Toronto’s Daniel Nestor and French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin lost their second round match to Marc Polmans and Andrew Whittington, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and partner Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands also lost their second-round doubles match, 7-6 (9), 6-4 to Andreja Klepac and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez

— With files from The Associated Press

The Canadian Press

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