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Eugenie Bouchard's 2016 Quebec City debut nervy, but she comes out with a win

Eugenie Bouchard's 2016 Quebec City debut nervy, but she comes out with a win

The Coupe Banque Nationale in Quebec City this week is either the biggest and best opportunity home girl Genie Bouchard has had in nearly two years to win her second career WTA Tour title, or the biggest load of pressure she’ll face in trying to win it.

Ranked No. 48, the Montreal native is the No. 1 seed at this small event. Five of the other seven seeds were bounced in the first round (including several former champions). The other two seeds were upset in the second round.

So that leaves only Bouchard, who survived a nervy first-round match against Mandy Minella of Luxembourg Wednesday night to post a 6-3, 6-4 victory and advance to the second round.

Here's what she said afterwards.

She next will play veteran Russian Alla Kudryavtseva, who along with partner Alexandra Panova defeated Bouchard and American partner Jessica Pegula in the doubles Tuesday.

Bouchard has debuted new racquets the last two days – same brand, Babolat. But instead of the Pure Aero Plus she has used the last few years, she had in her right hand a Pure Drive, less of a pure ball-strikers’ stick and more of an all-around racquet.

Whether that contributed to a noticeable drop in the velocity on her first serve – at times, to 2014 levels – compared to the major uptick over the summer months, is to be determined because in theory, being indoors on a very fast court should only help those numbers.

A lot of it may just have been nerves.

“For the last few weeks I’ve been working closely with Babolat to tweak some things to help my game. They’re great partners and while it’s still a work in progress, I’m confident these minor tweaks will have a positive impact on my tennis,” Bouchard told Eh Game.

Minella, currently ranked just outside the top 100, is the very definition of a journeywoman although the 30-year-old has had some good patches; she reached a career best of No. 47 in April 2013.

But her first serve (34 per cent) deserted her in the first set against Bouchard, allowing the Canadian to break her three times. She won just one of the first 11 points on her second serve.

Bouchard had a smile on her face as she hit a few balls into the stands after the match, but she wasn't happy with her level. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot)
Bouchard had a smile on her face as she hit a few balls into the stands after the match, but she wasn't happy with her level. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot)

The problem was, Bouchard’s serve was broken twice in the set. But a key hold that gave her 5-2 lead, in a game she originally led 40-love but nearly frittered away, was the difference.

The second set was closer than it should have been as well. Minella picked it up significantly on her serve, and Bouchard made a lot of errors on second-serve returns.

Her opponent had the right plan; Minella used her backhand slice a lot, threw in the occasional moon ball, and Bouchard couldn’t do much with those balls. But she couldn’t execute it consistently enough, burying too many of the slices into the net at key moments.

It was Bouchard’s first victory since a first-round win over Annika Beck three weeks ago in New Haven, just before the US Open. (Beck was the No. 2 seed in Quebec City but fell to lucky loser Barbora Stefkova in the first round, in three sets after leading 6-2, 5-2). So she’s unlikely to be too picky about the method, although she certainly didn’t have much of a smile on her face as she saluted the crowd after the win.

Bouchard sold out the house – 2,864, only the second time in the history of the tournament.

Her match against Kudryavtseva is scheduled for Thursday evening. Along with fellow Montrealer Françoise Abanda in the nightcap, the tournament should get another impressive turnout.