Eugenie Bouchard out of Rogers Cup but looking forward to U.S. Open

TORONTO – After yet another tough loss, Eugenie Bouchard is left hoping to salvage whatever she can from a mostly miserable season.

Although Bouchard showed some signs of life, she fell 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 to Belinda Bencic in the first-round of the Rogers Cup in a match that was close to getting way out of hand.

As Bill Belichick would say, it’s on to Cincinnati next week as she aims to get on track before the U.S. Open begins in three weeks less a day.

“I’m looking forward to the rest of the year as a chance to end the year on a better note than I started,” the 21-year-old Canadian said.

“I just want to get on the court. I’m so eager to play tournaments, play matches and feel good. My goals are to be healthy, to perform well during the matches and that's really it. I don't have any expectations besides that.”

As a player once gunning for Grand Slam championships, Bouchard’s expectations appear to have lowered.

After all, she’s been on a slow and steady decline for a year now.

She was ranked fifth in the world after reaching the Wimbledon final, her third straight appearance in the final four of a major in 2014.

But her return to the court saw her shockingly lose to American Shelby Rogers where she was bageled twice in a three-set defeat.

Since then, Bouchard, ranked 25^th, parted ways with two coaches and entered Toronto without a full-time one. She’s currently working temporarily with Marko Dragic.

Bouchard confirmed after Tuesday’s match that she split with Sam Sumyk after losing at Wimbledon in June, citing “big problems.” She went 4-13 under Sumyk.

Tuesday’s loss to Bencic drew some resemblances to the one she incurred in Montreal 12 months ago.

She looked completely out of sorts in the first set, failing to win a single game. Bencic, her 20^th-ranked opponent, seemed content with simply keeping the ball in play and letting Bouchard make errors.

When she won the first game of the second set, the crowd erupted. The cheers seemed those of encouragement – maybe even pity – compared to those of real hope.

However, Bouchard managed back to win the second set, despite being down 5-3.

“I think the losses are completely different,” Bouchard said. “I was in a completely different situation last year compared to this year. I feel like I handled myself really well tonight, and better than I did last year coming into that Montreal tournament. So I’m proud of that. I was fighting on every single point up until the end and that’s all I can ask for.”

It was Bouchard’s first match since Wimbledon in June when she played through a torn abdominal muscle.

She said she “played the whole match pain free,” although she admitted she was rusty due to the long layoff.

Now she’s focused on making adjustments heading into the last major of the year.

That starts with staying positive when there hasn’t been much to smile about lately.

“It’s easy to let yourself get negative when you lose a couple of matches in a row or you know your body's not feeling great. It's definitely been a tough road. And I feel like I'm at least not going downwards anymore. I'm trying to go on the right path.

“I feel like I can be close to performing well on the court, and it's just been a long, patient kind of battle, and I feel like I'm close to turning it around.”

Passing shots: Bouchard was the last Canadian to be eliminated in Toronto. Wild cards Francoise Abanda and Carol Zhao both lost on Tuesday. Abanda fell 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to Andrea Petkovic, while Zhao was defeated by American Madison Brengle 6-1, 6-1.