Monday, May 26, 2014

Eugenie Bouchard Wins 1st WTA Title By Beating Pliskova To Lift Nuremberg Cup Final

Eugenie Bouchard overcame some second set hiccups in Saturday's final to win the Nuremberg Cup.

The Westmount, Que., native prevailed by scores of 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 over Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic.

"I'm really excited, of course, second Grand Slam of the year and I think I've had great preparation," said Bouchard at centre court after Sunday's match.

"This week has really helped me get ready and I'm looking forward to playing some great tennis."

Bouchard appeared to be cruising to a straight sets win, but at 4-2 in the second she went on to drop the next five games. It was the first set she lost all week.

She began to experience problems with her serve toss and appeared discouraged before mounting the comeback.

"This is kind of like a stepping stone for me. Winning a WTA title is of course a goal I've had, and I'm so happy to accomplish it, but I still want to achieve more - more titles, bigger titles," Bouchard said.

Bouchard is ranked 19th in the world but was seeded second at the German tournament, reflecting the fact that nearly all of the top women's players elected to pass on the event ahead of the French Open, which begins Sunday. Still other tour players were in France playing a Strasbourg tuneup.
The 20-year-old Bouchard came into the tournament on a three-match losing streak in the clay court season.

"I love clay now," she joked in her courtside interview.

Bouchard will take on Shahar Peer of Israel in her first round French Open match. Should she prevail, potential matches in the next two rounds could be against Julia Goeges and Flavia Pennetta.

It's the first Grand Slam since the Australian Open, where she won legions of fans, dubbed "Genie's Army," by reaching the semifinal.

Bouchard's win is the first pro title for a Canadian woman since Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., was victorious in Stanford, Calif., in the summer of 2008.

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