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Eugenie Bouchard got the victory she wanted to start off the 2019 WTA season at the ASB Classic Monday. The 24-year-old superstar stayed focused on the court to take care of business against Madison Brengle with a 6-3, 6-3 win in straight sets on center court at the ASB Arena in New Zealand.
Both met back during their ITF days when both looked to be on the same path to WTA greatness. Since then both the American and Canadian look to get a good grip of 2019 and make their journey at Auckland mean something. Bouchard finished last season with a bang winning six in a row at the Luxembourg Open before losing to eventual champion Julia Goerges. Brengle played in ITF tournaments since mid-September making it imperative to gain wins in the WTA and stay consistently around on the tour.
For the Canadian, it was coming together well to start the opening set holding before breaking Brengle in the second game. It led to the ideal situation that Bouchard wanted to have in her first match of the new season containing a 3-0 lead. The American couldn’t let the set get away from her and on serve, she put down an attack that got her on the board. She made sure to consolidate the hold with a break getting within reach of Bouchard after five. The 24-year-old returned the favor breaking back on Brengle after having a chat with coach Michael Joyce who told her to stay focused during the changeover.
She battled the American in the seventh coming out with the win that took a mental beating on Brengle. During a conference chat with her coach, Brengle lost all self-esteem that she could come back leaving her coach with a one-track response of positivity. It turned into a small victory for the 28-year-old hoping to avoid bringing the set to an end. The ball was in Bouchard’s hands in the ninth and played it perfectly with an ace down the T that finished 34 minutes.
The second set didn’t go so easy as Brengle found her ways and battled against the Canadian to stay tight on the score. Through six games, they had their moments of breaking one another and service games to love but the margin remained only temporary as the competition was heating up for a possible push to the brink of the match. Bouchard was intent on making sure that she won the first match of the new season and broke away from Brengle with a solid service game. With the American down to her last moment in the tournament, Brengle tried to force deuce but it didn’t come to her giving the Canadian an advance to the second round in 1 hour and 11 minutes.
“It was straightforward scoreline but it was a tough battle so I’m happy that I got my focus back late in the second set and tried to play some good tennis,” Bouchard said after the match. She’ll look forward to more awaiting the winner between Alison Van Uytvanck or Silvia Soler-Espinosa.
