Eugenie Bouchard has won her first two matches at the 2017 Madrid Open. One of the results included a second-round defeat of a much-covered match between her and Maria Sharapova. The headlining matches certainly don't stop for the Canadian: next up is the top seed in the 2017 Madrid Open, Angelique Kerber.
Kerber to regain the No. 1 ranking
Kerber, who has been the World No. 1 a fair amount of the time since winning the US Open last summer, entered Madrid as the 2nd-ranked player in the world. However, she will regain top spot on Monday with Serena Williams on maternity leave.
That said, the World No. 1 ranking has not brought success to the German. Kerber is a noteworthy underachiever as the top-ranked player in the world. Since originally getting to top spot, she has yet to win a tournament title. With Wimbledon not far in the future, Kerber will need to rediscover some top-notch tennis in order to stay the World No. 1.
The Bouchard vs Kerber match is an interesting one in Madrid's third round. The Canadian player and the German are two players that have each been criticized for poor play in recent times. Having already noted Kerber's speed bumps, Bouchard's are certainly longer termed.
She seems slow footed at times and her 2014 season, when she originally made a name for herself on tour, is certainly ancient history.
She may have brought some intensity to her match with Sharapova earlier this week.
However, the Russian is on the comeback trail and perhaps a little off-form because of that. The question with Bouchard is if she will keep it up round after round.
Svetlana Kuznetova in same section
Bouchard and Kerber are alive in a section of the draw that also has Russian player Svetlana Kuznetsova, a former French Open champion.
The other player that looms large on the top half of the draw is Kristina Mladenovic. However, the Madrid Open is such that there appear to be numerous coin-toss matches.
The tournament does not have a heavy favorite and certainly peripheral players can feel as though they have a chance to do well. As a case in point, Sorana Cirstea of Romania is a former French Open quarterfinalist.
She may yet advance to the semifinals in Madrid as she prepares to face Misaki Doi.
Kerber and Bouchard will play in the evening session on Wednesday, starting at 8pm local time on Madrid's main showcourt. There's a lot on the line for each player as they will both be looking to inject some momentum into their seasons, seasons that have lacked major highlights thus far.
