MADRID: Former Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard claimed her first Madrid Open main draw win in six years on Wednesday with a three-set victory over Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska.
Bouchard, a former world number five whose ranking has slumped to 285, battled back to claim a 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 6-2 win over her fellow qualifier.
The 29-year-old Canadian made her first and only Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2014, the same year she was also a semifinalist at the Australian and French Opens.
However, a series of injury setbacks -- the latest of which was a shoulder injury which sidelined her for 17 months in 2021 and 2022 -- sent her career into free fall.
Wednesday's outing was just her third WTA main draw match of 2023 having played two rounds in Bogota earlier in April.
"It's like restarting at zero," said Bouchard on Tuesday after coming through two rounds of qualifying in Madrid.
She will next face Italy's world number 20 Martina Trevisan for a spot in the third round of the tournament.
Bouchard reached the quarterfinals in the Spanish capital in 2017, famously defeating Maria Sharapova in a tense second-round clash on her way to the quarterfinals.
ANDREEVA, 15, stuns Fernandez
Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday became only the third 15-year-old to win a WTA 1000 main draw match as she defeated US Open 2021 runner-up Leylah Fernandez at the Madrid Open.
The Russian wildcard triumphed 6-3, 6-4 against the Canadian in the opening round, emulating the achievement of Coco Gauff in 2019 and CiCi Bellis in 2015, both in Miami.
Playing without a flag because of Russia's war on Ukraine, Andreeva saved five of the six break points she faced against world number 49 Fernandez.
The Russian also became just the second 15-year-old to beat a top 50 opponent at WTA 1000 level, after Bellis beat Zarina Diyas, who was ranked 32nd at the time.
World number 194 Andreeva, who turns 16 on Saturday, will face 26-year-old Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round Thursday.
Andreeva is the youngest player in the top 300, recently cracking the top 200 for the first time.
She is playing in only her second tour-level main draw in Madrid, after losing against compatriot Anastasia Potapova in October in Monastir, Tunisia, at a WTA 250 event.
Meanwhile, US Open finallists in 2021, neither Emma Raducanu nor Leylah Fernandez made it beyond the first round at the Madrid Open.
Raducanu, who is set to drop out of the WTA's top 100, withdrew from her first-round meeting with Viktoriya Tomova on Wednesday due to a hand injury.
The 20-year-old Briton has endured a difficult season, with her best performance coming at the Indian Wells Open, where she lost to world number one Iga Swiatek in the last 16.
The big shock came as Jaqueline Cristian, ranked 525th in the singles rankings, defeated 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Having taken the first set, Stephens looked set to book her place in round two, only for Romanian Cristian to prevail 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Alize Cornet overcame world number 39 Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-3, while Camila Giorgi was forced to retire from her match with Mayar Sherif before the start of a deciding third set, and Amanda Anisimova was another top-50 casualty.
Rebeka Masarova, Nuria Parrizas Diaz, Marina Bassols Ribera and Irene Burillo Escorihuela carried the flag for Spain into the next round. -- Agencies
Madrid ATP/WTA results
Men (first round)
Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) bt Ugo Humbert (FRA) 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4); Gregoire Barrere (FRA) bt Emilio Nava (USA) 6-0, 5-7, 6-3; Hugo Grenier (FRA) bt Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 7-5, 6-4; Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) bt David Goffin (BEL) 6-4, 6-4; Thiago Monteiro (BRA) bt Borna Gojo (CRO) 7-6 (11/9), 4-6, 6-3; Quentin Halys (FRA) bt Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; Alex Molcan (SVK) bt Wu Yibing (CHN) 6-2, 6-4; Stan Wawrinka (SUI) bt Maxime Cressy (USA) 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4); Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) bt Benoit Paire (FRA) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6); Jaume Munar (ESP) bt Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/3); Oscar Otte (GER) bt Pavel Kotov 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; Yannick Hanfmann (GER) bt Juan Pablo Varillas (PER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Richard Gasquet (FRA) bt Martin Landaluce (ESP) 6-2, 6-1; Hugo Gaston (FRA) bt Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 6-3, 6-4; Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) bt Ilya Ivashka 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2; Alexander Bublik (KAZ) bt Daniel Galan (COL) 7-6 (17/15), 6-7 (4/7), 6-4
Women (first round)
Julia Grabher (AUT) bt Viktoriya Tomova (BUL) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5); Tatjana Maria (GER) bt Alexandra Eala (PHI) 6-1, 6-1; Caty McNally (USA) bt Dalma Galfi (HUN) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3; Alize Cornet (FRA) bt Gabriela Ruse (ROM) 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-3; Danka Kovinic (MNE) bt Sara Errani (ITA) 6-4, 6-0; Wang Xiyu (CHN) bt Varvara Gracheva 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-4; Laura Siegemund (GER) bt Nadia Podoroska (ARG) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Anna Kalinskaya bt Brenda Fruhvirtova (CZE) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; Magdalena Frech (POL) bt Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 6-2, 6-3; Aliaksandra Sasnovich bt Elina Svitolina (UKR) 6-4, 7-5; Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) bt Dayana Yastremska (UKR) 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 6-2; Alycia Parks (USA) bt Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2; Nuria Parrizas Diaz (ESP) bt Anna Blinkova 6-3, 6-0; Jaqueline Cristian (ROM) bt Sloane Stephens (USA) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4; Lesya Tsurenko (UKR) bt Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) 6-1, 6-3; Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova bt Victoria Jimenez (AND) 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (9/7); Irene Burillo Escorihuela (ESP) bt Kaia Kanepi (EST) 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4; Rebeka Masarova (ESP) bt Cristina Bucsa (ESP) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4; Arantxa Rus (NED) bt Amanda Anisimova (USA) 7-5, 6-2; Mayar Sherif (EGY) bt Camila Giorgi (ITA) 4-6, 6-4 - retired; Mirra Andreeva bt Leylah Fernandez (CAN) 6-3, 6-4; Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) bt Marina Bassols (ESP) 6-1, 6-3; Camila Osorio (COL) bt Clara Burel (FRA) 6-3, 6-4
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