The WTA circuit walked into the second Grand Slam of the year without a certain name as the main favorite. Up to a point, it was Simona Halep who was leading the pack during the clay court swing. That changed after Rome where she ended up with a torn ankle. Without Serena Williams or Sharapova in french open main draw, the stage is wide open as most of the people tend to admit. Naturally, the debate is revolving around those players with a solid record on clay, but there are other who are worth being taken into consideration.
Eugenie Bouchard is one of them as the Canadian recently put in some good matches on this surface.
AFew weeks ago, she stunned Maria Sharapova in Madrid and then went on outplaying the world no. 1 Angelique Kerber. It was a 2 matches miracle showing that she still has the ability to produce some outstanding tennis. While there is no sure bet regarding women's singles contest at Roland Garros, Bouchard could revive her career by having an extended run.
Bouchard had no luck with the main draw
Ranked 57th in the world, the 23-year-old is a former world no. 5, a status she achieved in the closing stages of 2014, her career-best season so far. Throughout that season, she made it into two Major semis (Australian Open and French Open) and was runner-up at Wimbledon Championships. Three years later, she is still trying to bring back the lost mojo.
The main draw of Roland Garros has Bouchard in the third quarter having the two most in- shape players of the WTA Tour along the way. Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina were put on the short list of French Open's favorites. With Svitolina Bouchard could cross her path in the fourth round, while Simona Halep may await in the last eight stages.
The Canadian player will have her opening match against Risa Ozaki (72 WTA). These two have a one match common history. It occurred at 2016 Indian Wells in the round of 128, an encounter won by Bouchard in three sets. The winner of this match will play the winner of Anastasija Sevastova (19 WTA) vs Annika Beck (71 WTA).
Bouchard is trying to regroup after a disastrous first part of the season
After having a decent start back in January (Sydney International and Australian Open), she went on a downward spiral struggling during the rest of the hardcourt season. She had 5 losses in a row including at Indian Wells and Miami. At the Premier Mandatory event in Madrid, she put on stage some of the qualities that helped her emerging as a new tennis star a few years ago. The French Open might present itself as a good chance to improve her game and eventually the ranking status.
