Bacsinszky downs Bouchard at French Open

Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky celebrates after winning her women’s second round match against Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard at the Roland Garros 2016 French Tennis Open in Paris on May 26, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU

Timea Bacsinszky’s love affair with Roland Garros continued on Thursday when she swept aside struggling Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round of the French Open.

A semi-finalist last year where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams, the Swiss eighth seed trailed 1-4 in the first set before she took control, winning 10 games in a row to serve for the match at 5-0 in the second.

Bouchard, a French Open semi-finalist in 2014, the year she rose to fifth in the world, staved off defeat by winning that game and she saved a match point on her own serve to pull back to 5-2.

The fight-back continued with another break of serve and a hold to get to 5-4, but Bacsinszky finally held firm on her serve at the third time of asking to seal the win.

The Swiss No.1 will next play either France’s Pauline Parmentier or Irina Falconi of the United States for a place in the last 16.

“I am happy with the win especially as I was 5-0 up and then it was 5-4 and she had two chances to get to 5-5. So I really made it complicated for myself,” she said.

“I just love Roland Garros. It brought me back in to tennis three years ago and I reached the semi-finals last year. Ever since I was a little girl I have dreamt of this tournament.”

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