Canadian Eugenie Bouchard wins in 1st round at ASB Classic

Former world No. 5 Eugenie Bouchard launched a new season Monday with a commanding 6-3, 6-3 win over American Madison Brengle in the first round of the WTA’s ASB Classic.

The former Wimbledon finalist, looking to begin her resurgence on the women’s tour after dropping to 87 on world rankings, recovered some of her best form in a convincing win.

READ MORE: Eugenie Bouchard eager to pass ‘burden of Canada’ onto another player

The Westmount, Que., native shot to an early 3-0 lead in the first set, dropped serve on a couple of unforced errors then picked up momentum again and quickly closed out the set.

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The first four games of the second set went again to serve but Bouchard was dominant again when she steadied and put her first serve in play.

READ MORE: Bouchard exits Rogers Cup on home turf, says pressure got to her

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Bouchard gained in confidence, sending down three unanswered aces and clinching the match against the 88th-ranked Brengle in 71 minutes. She will face either Alison van Uytvanck or qualifier Bibiane Schoofs in the second round.

“It was a straight forward scoreline but it was a tough battle,” Bouchard said. “I’m happy I got my focus back late in the second set.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was a straight forward scoreline but it was a tough battle," Bouchard said. "I'm happy I got my focus back late in the second set."

It was Bouchard’s first season-opening win since 2016.

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Qualifier Bianca Andreescu, 18, of Mississauga, Ont., faces Timea Babos of Hungary in a first-round match on Tuesday.

Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig took 74 minutes to oust American wildcard Bethanie Mattek-Sands, ranked 350, 6-3, 6-2 in a clash of former Olympic champions.

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0:36 Eugenie Bouchard makes headlines with supposedly ‘icy’ interview

Puig won the Olympic women’s singles title in Rio de Janiero in 2016 while Mattek-Sands was the mixed doubles champion at the same games. Mattek-Sands hasn’t won a singles match on the WTA Tour since May.

Meanwhile, American Lauren Davies, who won the singles title in Auckland in 2017 but needed a wildcard to reach this year’s main draw, advanced to the second round with a 6-, 6-2 win over Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena.

READ MORE: Eugenie Bouchard’s ‘icy’ post-victory interview makes headlines

Tuesday’s draw is highlighted by the first round clash of former World No. 1s Venus Williams and Victoria Azarenka and the first appearance of defending champion Julia Goerges.

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