Bouchard takes Prague revenge for Wimbledon loss

Eugenie Bouchard on Thursday reached the quarter-finals of the WTA Prague Open, scoring a three-hour revenge win over the opponent who knocked her out in the Wimbledon first round last year.

The Canadian will play for the second time this virus-interrupted season for a semi-final spot after defeating Tamara Zidansek 7-6(2), 6-7(2), 6-2.

“I felt OK out there, at times I played well but at times I didn’t play well at all,” Bouchard said. “My opponent has a good game for clay.

“When I was playing well I was dominating a little more. I was pretty proud of myself with how I was able to bounce back after losing that second set.

“I regrouped and told myself to get back to playing my game, not letting her dominate but trying to step up and take advantage – I told myself to get back to my basics.”

Bouchard said she kept her 2019 grass-court loss to the Slovene out of mind. “This was so different. It’s clay, it’s a year later. 

“It’s important for me to learn, to maybe remember a couple of things I want to do on court, but not really to compare the matches. 

“It’s a new day, it’s a new match, anything can happen – and that’s how we try to see it.”

Bouchard, once a Top 5 player who lost the 2014 Wimbledon final before sinking over the following seasons, played the quarters at the start of this season in Auckland, 

The 330th-ranked wild card Bouchard led 4-1 in the opening set but eventually had to claim it in a tiebreaker before Zidansek levelled the sets,

In the third, the Canadian moved through in the second week of the WTA return following the five-month COVID-19 pause.