Bouchard into Istanbul semis after Kovinic marathon

ISTANBUL, Turkey – For the second time in as many days, qualifier Eugenie Bouchard came through a marathon encounter to progress at the TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championship Istanbul as she sealed a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Danka Kovinic to move into the semifinals.

Bouchard speeded through the deciding set to overcome No.1 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova on Thursday but was made to work hard to follow that up with a three-hour two-minute victory over the WTA World No.92.

Indeed, Kovinic made the better start, which allowed her to edge the first set, but Bouchard, who was suffering with what appeared to be a right shoulder problem, gritted her teeth to level following a tight second.

The decider followed a similar pattern, with Bouchard fighting back from a early break to make the more promising openings before ultimately closing it out to set up a semifinal against either Polona Hercog or Paula Badosa.

It was her second victory in as many meetings with Kovinic, while it snapped a run of four successive quarterfinal losses on the WTA Tour.

“I won because of not giving up, fighting, being tired physically and mentally. So I’m really proud of that,” she after the match.

“It shows me that even though I wasn’t feeling great before the match, at the start of the match and in the first set, that I can turn things around. There’s always hope.

“It gives me a sense of confidence that I can give myself a chance, even when things aren’t going well.”

Early in the encounter, the 26-year-old showed signs of stiffness following her exertions the previous day as she struggled to get her feet moving laterally.

Kovinic took full advantage as she stretched into a 3-0 lead before her Canadian rival started to get going. The 25-year-old, who saved five break points from five against Alison Van Uytvanck in her previous victory, was in equally obstinate form in the opening set, finding her serve on the big points and drilling powerful winners when it mattered. Four times Bouchard would be denied.

While the former Wimbledon finalist was growing into the match, she was kept at an arm’s lengthy by her opponent, with Kovinic closing the set out with two impressive holds. 

The second frame started ominously for Bouchard as she was broken in the first game, though she followed that up positively by taking advantage of a Kovinic double fault before luring her opponent into hitting long to seal her first break of the match.

After holding in the subsequent game, Bouchard would take a medical timeout due to what appeared a right shoulder injury, and though at each changeover during the second set, she would have massage on it, there were no apparent ill effects to her play, which became more aggressive and more confident as the match wore on.

Following the two early breaks in the second set, a long run of service holds ensued, but neither player was especially comfortable. Kovinic scrambled to save a break point in the fourth game but it was the ninth that was to prove pivotal as Bouchard held after six deuces and one break point.

With nothing to lose as the Montenegrin served to stay in the set, Bouchard became extremely aggressive and brought up two set points with a fierce, flat backhand. A big serve her initially denied her, but given another opportunity, the 26-year-old attacked the second serve to force an error and a deciding set.

The trend of Kovinic setting the early pace continued at the beginning of the third as she again sealed a break but she was once more pegged back by the ongoing aggression of Bouchard. 

Back on terms, Bouchard continued to press and fashioned a break point in the middle of the set only to see it rapidly erased by a fine backhand from the Kovinic racquet.

Opportunities for the players on return were few, but in the 12th game Bouchard took her opportunity as a Kovinic backhand deflected off the top of the net and into the middle of the tramlines.

“It’s been physical, you have to be patient and try and play defense as well. I’ve been able to grind out points. If you’re on defense and you force them to miss, it’s still worth the same point,” she said, summing up her gritty display.

Bouchard will next play her first semi since Luxembourg 2018, in which she lost in three sets to Julia Goerges.