By Mike McIntyre
Tennis fans in Canada were looking forward to Friday's quarterfinal match in Newport Beach between Genie Bouchard and Bianca Andreescu. It offered an all-Canadian affair between the current No. 1 and the heir apparent and it featured two players who had started 2019 in strong fashion. Fifty-three minutes after it began however it was all over with a resounding 6-2, 6-0 victory from the 18 year old Andreescu.
The highlight for Bouchard was an ace on the very first point of the match as it quickly went downhill from her first service hold. Andreescu would break for a 2-1 lead in the opening set and never looked back as she dictated play the rest of the way. She would finish by winning 78% of her first serves, taking 5 of 9 break point opportunities and winning 58 points compared to a mere 31 from Bouchard.
Despite Genie's experience, it was Andreescu who seemed poised and confident throughout the match as her groundstrokes were hitting their mark deep into the court and her variety and spin also seemed to fluster a lackluster Bouchard. Andreescu has been making life difficult for most of her opponents so far this year as she has a sparkling 14-2 record if you add-up all of her qualifying and main draw matches.
As the two approached the net at the conclusion of the match they offered each other a brief but cordial handshake and then Andreescu quickly packed-up her gear and left the court without any type of celebration - a classy gesture considering the way she dismantled her older compatriot.
Despite the loss Bouchard sports a respectable 5-3 record to start 2019 and aside from today's lopsided loss and quick exit versus Andreescu, the 24 year old has looked more confident and content on and off the tennis court lately. There are encouraging signs that both Bouchard and Andreescu could make their way into the top-50 on the WTA Tour, providing Canada with a solid one-two punch in Fed Cup play.
As for the take-away from today's match between the two, it reminds me of a comment made by Bouchard from back at the 2017 Rogers Cup. In reply to my question about the up-and-coming Andreescu, Bouchard joked that finally, "Someone else can carry the burden for Canada." With her strong play out of the gate this year and the potentially symbolic win over Bouchard - the country's current No. 1 - Andreescu may indeed be ready to take that challenge and see how it feels.
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