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Rising Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard saw her pre-Wimbledon preparations go awry after losing to Vania King in the first round of the WTA/ATP ‘s-Hertogenbosch Open yesterday, but there were no such problems for Simona Halep. |
Former Wimbledon junior champion Bouchard, who pulled out of last week’s tournament in Birmingham after reaching the semi-finals of the French Open, was beaten 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 by King, meaning she will arrive at next week’s tournament at the All England Club with just one grass-court match under her belt this season.
The world number 13, who also made the last four of the Australian Open in January, raced through the opening set backed by a pair of service breaks.
But the 20-year-old was pegged back in the second set with American King, ranked 75th, capitalising on a lone break of serve.
Bouchard was forced to fend off a pair of break points at the start of the deciding set but the third seed came unstuck in her following service game as King made the vital breakthrough to take a 2-1 lead.
Bouchard had opportunities to pull herself back into the match as four break points came and went with the Canadian struggling to find her rhythm on the grass before King sealed the contest after just over two hours on court.
Second seed Dominika Cibulkova was also sent tumbling out in the Netherlands after losing 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova.
With the top players falling all around her Halep, the defending champion, made sure she didn’t add her name to the list of casualties.
The top-seeded Romanian brushed aside Belarusian Olga Govortsova 7-5, 6-2 in her first match since a narrow defeat to Maria Sharapova in the French Open final.
Halep, ranked a career-high third in the world following her Paris exploits, will face German youngster Annika Beck in the second round.
Her path to retaining the title seemingly became even more straightforward after fifth seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany was sent packing by Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 7-5 in round two.
Roland Garros quarter-finalist Garbine Muguruza swept aside Yvonne Meusburger of Austria 6-4, 6-1 in her second-round match, while fellow Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, who also reached the last eight at the French Open, eased past Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 6-2 in round one.
Men’s second seed Fernando Verdasco, the highest-ranked player in the field following the withdrawal of compatriot David Ferrer, recovered from a slow start to beat Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round.
Spanish third seed Roberto Bautista Agut also breezed into the last 16 with a routine 6-1, 6-3 win over Daniel Gimeno-Traver.
However, Halle finalist Alejandro Falla was unable to repeat last week’s heroics as he was dumped out at the first hurdle by eighth seed Juergen Melzer of Austria.
Giorgi upsets returning Azarenka in Eastbourne
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka lost her first match after a three-month injury layoff to Italy’s Camila Giorgi at the ATP-WTA Eastbourne International yesterday.
The two-time Australian Open champion, who had not played since early March due to a foot injury, managed to stand the pace for nearly three hours before losing 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to her 42nd-ranked opponent.
“I wanted a competitive match to test myself,” said an upbeat Azarenka, 24, after the first round tie at the pre-Wimbledon grasscourt tournament.
“The most important thing was that I was there playing and I was healthy.
“I can always get better from here. I didn’t expect a perfect match, but there are a lot of positive things that came out. I wanted to test myself and that’s what I did.
“It feels great to know that I’m able to move how I want and not have my face like this (flinching) every time I step.”
The Belarusian rallied from 4-2 down to win the first set but Giorgi, who has already beaten top ten players Dominika Cibulkova and Maria Sharapova this season, fought back.
The Italian, who played a first WTA final this year in Poland, came back in the second set and won despite nine double-faults after taking a 5-0 lead over Azarenka.
Giorgi, whose father-coach Sergio was going through every emotion in a dramatic display in the player box, levelled at a set each as world number eight Azarenka’s early confidence appeared to fade.
The third set was tight until the seed gave away the sixth game for 2-4 with a double-fault, only to break back in the tenth to make it 5-5.
Azarenka was then broken for 5-6, with Giorgi serving out a game later as her opponent’s return sailed long on match point.
The Italian next plays 109th-ranked British wild card Johanna Konta, who beat Swiss qualifier Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-2.
“I had the desire, it was so important to see where I’m at and what I have to work on,” said Azarenka, a semi-finalist in Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012.
“I need to work on timing, reaction and decision-making, things that you miss when you are away for a long time.”
Second seed Petra Kvitova, a 2011 finalist, made a winning start over fellow Czech Lucie Safarova, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/4) advancing on a third match point.
American Madison Keys dealt third seed Jelena Jankovic a third career loss as the Serb fell 6-3, 6-3 and leaves without a victory at the venue.