Bouchard dominant in upset win over Cibulkova
Eugenie Bouchard got some revenge on Dominika Cibulkova on Wednesday.
After falling to Cibulkova in the round of 32 at Wimbledon earlier this month, Bouchard eliminated the Slovak from Rogers Cup contention with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory.
RELATED: Bouchard advances in Montreal
Eugenie Bouchard of Canada returns to Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia during second round of play at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament Wednesday July 27, 2016 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
The win pushes Bouchard into the third round of the Canadian tournament for the first time in her career. She advanced to Wednesday’s second round with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3) win over Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.
“It feels very special, playing in Montreal, I don’t get to do it often,” Bouchard told her hometown crowd after the win.
Bouchard’s win was particularly impressive because it came against Cibulkova, who is currently ranked 10th in the world and seeded 11th at the tournament. The 27-year-old made it to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon this year and most recently made the semifinals in Stanford.
RELATED: Bouchard pulls off Wimbledon upset
After taking the first set 6-2, Bouchard took a 1-0 lead in the second. The Montreal native, who saved 7/7 break points, then won a lengthy second game to grab a 2-0 lead. She cruised through the remainder of the set, winning 6-0 and taking the match.
Bouchard, who went into Montreal ranked 42nd in the world, will play Kristina Kucova of Slovakia on Thursday. Kucova is currently ranked 121st in the world. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals.
This is the final tournament before Rio 2016 for Bouchard, who will be one of four tennis players on Team Canada. She’ll compete in both singles and doubles at this year’s Olympic Games.
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Eugenie Bouchard of Canada reacts during her match against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia during second round of play at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament Wednesday July 27, 2016 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Gabriela Dabrowski, who was eliminated from Rogers Cup doubles play on Monday with Russian partner Alla Kudryavtseva, will team up with Bouchard for doubles in Rio.
Team Canada’s men’s tennis players, Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil, are also in action this week, playing in Toronto. The two will play doubles tomorrow against the team of Nick Kyrgios and Jack Sock.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Milos Raonic cruised through to the third round of the men’s side of the Rogers Cup. Raonic needed just 65 minutes to down Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu 6-3, 6-3 and advance to Thursday’s third round.
RELATED: Canadians move on in Toronto
Milos Raonic in action against Yen-Hsun Lu at the Rogers Cup in Toronto on July 27, 2016. (Thomas Skrlj/COC)
“I did things well from the beginning,” Raonic said after the win, noting the windy and cool conditions that hit Toronto late in the day. “I didn’t expect to play as well as I did.”
“It’s a good way to start the tournament.”
Raonic, this year’s runner-up at Wimbledon, had a bye through to the second round. He’ll take on unseeded Jared Donaldson of the United States in Thursday’s third round.
