When Eugenie Bouchard finally beat Maria Sharapova 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in Madrid, it was obvious that much of the tennis world was in shock. Maria Sharapova was clearly the odds-on favorite, Intertops having her at -714, and with a clear head-to-head advantage. In their four prior matches, Sharapova won all four, with Bouchard only managing to get one set in the process.
In their previous match at the 2015 Australian Open, Sharapova had beaten Bouchard in straight sets, only losing five games in the entire match. With Bouchard struggling, many felt like this would be an easy match for Maria, a warmup before her battle with world number two Angelique Kerber in the next round. However, that was far from the case.
This match meant much more than what a random Second Round match would typically mean. For Sharapova, winning this match would mean that she would be a step closer to the main draw of Wimbledon, which would be crucial for her return to tennis following her meldonium use that forced her to spend 15 months on the sidelines. Getting in the main draw of a Grand Slam, in addition to the massive amounts of prize money, would make it much easier for Sharapova to catapult up the WTA rankings, where the number one spot is up for grab's due Serena Williams' pregnancy. However, with this loss, Sharapova will now look to Rome as an opportunity to move up the ranks of the WTA.
For Eugenie Bouchard, this match looked to be a crossroads for her career. Following a run to the Fourth Round of the Australian Open, coming within one set of the Quarterfinals before falling to CoCo Vandeweghe, Eugenie had massive struggles with her game. She lost in the First Round of Acapulco, Indian Wells, Miami, and Monterrey, before going to an ITF tournament in Indian Harbor Beach and only getting three games in a meek defeat to world number 484, Victoria Duval. And when Bouchard lost in the First Round of Istanbul too, it seemed more and more likely that her Wimbledon Final was nothing more than a massive fluke.
This match was complicated by Bouchard's chatter regarding Sharapova's drug use. Bouchard called Sharapova "a cheater" and also wanted her banned from tennis for life. This surely made proceedings personal between Eugenie and Maria, despite Maria saying that she was "way above that". This was condescending, in a way. Sharapova was essentially calling Bouchard immature, and definitely had a "holier than thou" attitude mixed into it. I'm sure that Bouchard's initial comments really irked Sharapova, and I'm also sure that Maria's condescending reply annoyed Eugenie as well.
This context provided the reasoning behind the electric intensity of the match. I watched much of the match, and one of the things that stuck out to me at the beginning was the ability of Bouchard to keep the point alive. While against some other players, Sharapova might have drawn more forced errors, Bouchard frequently refused to let the point die. Bouchard had a determined attitude, something that had been missing from her game until this match. This determined attitude started in her first match in the tournament against Cornet where, despite losing the second set, Bouchard won the third set in dominating fashion, 6-1.
When Sharapova broke first in the match to lead *4-2 in the first set, it would be easy for her to go away, knowing that the head-to-head (to this point) was a disaster, and that her year wasn't much better. However, Eugenie refused to go away. In a long seventh game of the match, Bouchard broke back and held from 0-30 down. Even after getting broken serving for the set at *5-4, Bouchard just wouldn't back down. At 5-5, despite not breaking on her first three chances in the game, Eugenie Bouchard broke through, winning Sharapova's service game and holding in the next game, despite facing a break point at 30-40.
In the second set, Sharapova imposed her will. Maria had to save a break point at 1-1 in the set, but didn't struggle much from there, taking the second set 6-2 to tie the match at one set all. This would have been the perfect time for Bouchard to look at her season, her past defeats to Sharapova, and perhaps, throw in the towel. After all, when Maria took the second set in Paris in the Semifinals of the French Open in 2014, she had little problems in the third set, taking it 6-2. Eugenie could have thought of that match, thought of history repeating itself in part, and put in a weak third set effort. But, in a stunning set, Bouchard rose above her competition.
The third set was a tussle of wills, a battle of who would outlast the other. Bouchard saved a break point at *0-1 to hold for 1-1, and then had 0-40 on the Sharapova serve, a crucial break nearly inevitable. However, utilizing huge serving and crushing play from the baseline, Maria held and then got up 0-40 on Bouchard's serve, one point away from a moment that would almost certainly crush her spirit. However, a combination of good serving from Bouchard and bad returning from Sharapova allowed her to escape the 0-40 hold, and eventually the game.
Eugenie then got to 0-40 on Sharapova's service game once again, but Maria's fighting spirit pushed her through to yet another hold. Once again, this was a crossroads for Bouchard. Having 0-40 in two games in a row, a combined eight break points lost in two Sharapova service games, it would be easy for Eugenie to have a let down, but she wouldn't quit. Despite going 15-30 down at 3-3 in the third set, Bouchard held on and then finally broke Maria when she got up 0-40 in yet another Sharapova service game to go up *4-3 in the third set, two holds from a huge victory.
But, Sharapova wouldn't go away, utilizing impressive power tennis, Sharapova pounded away at the Bouchard serve, never allowing Eugenie to get comfortable in the game, and breaking back for 4-all. It seemed to me, at this point, that Bouchard's will would finally be broken. She had done seemingly everything in her power to beat Maria, but it looked as if Sharapova had answered every one of Bouchard's questions. And when Sharapova went up 40-15 in her ensuing service game, it seemed as if a 6-4 third set to Maria was on it's way.
But, Bouchard had other plans. Eugenie ended up breaking Maria from 40-15 down, then saving two break points when serving for the match to win 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. This was, given the circumstances and Bouchard's year so far, definitely the biggest win of her year, and up there with the biggest wins of her career. To have such poor results before this match, to have so many headlines swirling around, to play such high-quality tennis was astounding.
Bouchard's defensive play was superb, and she was hitting her forehand the way I remembered her forehand looking in 2014, her breakout year on the WTA Tour. If Bouchard can continue to play, and compete, in a similar fashion to tonight, then there is no reason why she cannot make a deep run in both this tournament, and eventually, at Roland Garros. Sharapova has also shown that she will be a force on clay this year, and if she is luck enough to get a French Open wildcard (which I think that she shouldn't receive), she will definitely be a factor in Paris.
Next up for Bouchard is world number two Angelique Kerber, who before the tournament would be an almost-assured victory for Angelique. However, given the quality of play seen by Bouchard in this tournament thus far, there is no reason why Eugenie cannot win that match. Win or lose, however, Eugenie Bouchard has silenced her demons in Madrid.
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