We love Canada's sweetheart Genie Bouchard to death but she needs to decide if she wants to be a centerfold or a tennis player after having her ass handed to her in the US Open recently. She and our other top female Canadian prospect will face off in the Rogers Cup in Canada coming up. They will face off in the round of 64 ...
Bouchard, Andreescu to face off in all-Canadian match at Rogers Cup
Canadian Press August 2, 2019, 5:31 PM
2
TORONTO — Bianca Andreescu will face Eugenie Bouchard in an all-Canadian first-round match at the Rogers Cup on Tuesday night.
The draw for Canada’s annual WTA Tour event was held on Friday.
The Andreescu-Bouchard match features Canada’s top two women’s players. When it was revealed, Andreescu laughed and said "of course."
"That’s a shocker. Basically the only two Canadians in the draw," Andreescu said when asked about the matchup in a press conference following the draw.
"We know each other very well, we’ve practised many times together so I know it’s going to be a tough (match) and I’m sure there’s going to be a huge crowd that night."
The 26th-ranked Andreescu, a 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., had a rapid rise up the rankings earlier this year after a great start to the season, highlighted by her title at a big tournament in Indian Wells, Calif. But Andreescu has played just one match since March because of a shoulder injury.
Andreescu, who said the shoulder "feels good" now, four days before her scheduled first match, withdrew from the Citi Open this week in Washington, D.C., in part to make sure she was ready for Toronto.
"I pulled out of D.C. because I didn’t want to get into it too quickly," she said. "I know this is a really big step because I’m playing at home.
"Rogers Cup is a really big tournament but I really think I’m ready. I’ve been training for the past month and a half or so."
Former world No. 5 Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., has slipped to No. 114 in the rankings. She has won just two matches at the WTA Tour level this year and was given a wild card into the Rogers Cup.
Andreescu crushed Bouchard 6-2, 6-0 earlier this year en route to a tourney title in Newport Beach, Calif.
Leylah Annie Fernandez of Laval, Que., who won the French Open junior girls title earlier this year, will face a qualifier after being given a wild card into the tournament.
Earlier, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova dropped out because of an arm injury.
The native of the Czech Republic won the tournament in 2012.
Kvitova’s arm issue initially flared up during the French Open earlier this year.
"I’m so disappointed to have to withdraw from the Rogers Cup," Kvitova said in a statement. "My forearm injury is continuing to cause some problems so, on the advice of my medical team, I have made the decision not to travel to Canada."
The move makes Serena Williams a top-eight seed, giving the American star a bye in the first round. She’ll play her opening match on Wednesday night.
Venus Williams, Serena’s sister, now takes the available spot in the main draw and her wild card goes to two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.
Qualifying starts on Saturday. Main-draw play begins on Monday.