Eugenie Bouchard’s Impressive Run at WTA Prague Open 2020 Ends After a Three-Set Thriller

Eugenie Bouchard and her comeback run was halted after she lost to World No.23 and 3rd seed at the WTA Prague Open Elise Mertens. It was an end to end the match with the last few games being very tense. The Scorecard read 6-4 1-6 6-4.

This was the third meeting between Bouchard and Mertens. Mertens leads the head to head 2-0. Bouchard has failed to win a single set against the Belgian. But this match wasn’t as easy as the first two matches against Bouchard for Mertens. A tough quarterfinal match which lasted for more than two hours.

Eugenie Bouchard will jump inside the top 300 after reaching the quarterfinal in the WTA Prague Open

The first set was off to a fiery start. Bouchard continued with aggression and frequently hit winners. Mertens was a bit defensive but solid. At halfway stage, Bouchard looked set to win the set. But unforced errors from the Canadian brought Mertens back into the set and the Belgian clinched a comfortable set 6-4.

Bouchard didn’t change much in her game in the second set. She continued with aggression. Despite losing the first set, the Canadian broke Mertens in the first game itself. This set witnessed both the players being engaged in longer, gruesome rallies. Bouchard made fewer mistakes and pressed her claim for the second set after getting the double break at 3-0. An easy set for Bouchard who wins it 6-1.

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After the 2nd set Mertens took a timeout. At the start of the third set both the players were cautious and avoiding mistakes. Despite her blip in performance in the 2nd set, Mertens was up 4-2 in the final set. Mertens resisted the late charge from Bouchard to win the set 6-4 and take the match.

Elise Mertens will play former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova in the Semifinals tomorrow. It was a good run from Bouchard who was given the wildcard to participate. A quarterfinal appearance will help the Canadian recover her ranking points and climb higher.