Tuesday 21 January 2014

Eugenie Bouchard - future star

The first match on night 7 at Rod Laver Arena featured Australia's last singles hope Casey Dellacqua facing Canadian teenager and number 30 seed Eugenie Bouchard.  Casey was having a purple patch of form later in her career while Eugenie represents the future of women's tennis.
Bouchard served with power and purpose ending with an ace to emphatically hold the first serve of the match.  Casey found it far more difficult, and was taken to deuce before her big forehand helped her to safety and 1-1.
After a slowish start, Casey jumped all over the Canadian serve and broke to lead 2-1, consolidated comfortably with a good service hold and the acid test was Genie's to undergo.
The teenager passed with flying colours but remained a break behind at 2-3.  This became 4-3 Casey's way and the Australian about to serve.  
Four unforced errors was enough to shatter the Australian serve and games were back on serve 4-4.

Plenty of pockets of Canadian noise were making themselves known as Bouchard strutted her stuff, and we still had our locals cheering Casey.  Canada would no doubt knock us over in an ice hockey contest, just as we would thrash them at cricket, so there was plenty on the line with this tennis match apart from the individual stuff - there were national bragging rights at stake.

Genie pressed on, aceing Casey twice as she took the lead 5-4, and Casey needed to hold to remain in the first set.  This she did and both girls performed competently until 6-6 at which point a tie break was declared.
Casey won the early mini break and managed to retain it until the final stages of the breaker.
Australia led Canada by one set 7-6

The second set saw Genie Bouchard"s disappointment translate into a positive approach to the detriment of Casey Dellacqua.  Casey stumbled her way to a service hold and lead 1-0, but the accomplished looking player on court was the Canadian whose movement across the court and up to the net was swift and well timed.  Casey was progressively shell shocked by the ammunition fired by an increasingly impressive young player.

The first break came in the third game, followed directly by another in Casey's next service game to trail 1-4 and virtually concede the set.  Bouchard was playing like a quarter finalist whereas Casey was hitting and hoping.

The remaining services were held and Genie won the set 6-2 to level the match, but Casey had to repair some serious damage to her tennis game that had occurred during that past set.

If set two was ordinary, the final set was a debacle for Casey.  The procession of which Genie was a part, had forgotten to include Casey and she was left behind as the 6 games of the set were played out.

Eugenie Bouchard was now a quarter finalist, winning this match 6-7 6-2 6-0

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