Tennis-Former finalist Bouchard's Wimbledon run ends in second round
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2018 Canada's Eugenie Bouchard in action during the second round match against Australia's Ashleigh Barty REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
LONDON (Reuters) - Eugenie Bouchard's hopes of emulating her 2014 run to the final were hit for six by former professional cricket player Ashleigh Barty in the second round of Wimbledon on Thursday.
The Canadian, whose ranking has fallen to 188th from a career-high five in 2014, had to contest three qualifying matches just to make into the main draw at the All England Club.
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2018 Australia's Ashleigh Barty celebrates winning the second round match against Canada's Eugenie Bouchard REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
The effort of winning four matches over the past week to get into round two appeared to have taken its toll on Bouchard as she could do little to stop 17th seed Barty storming back from 5-2 down in the second set to seal a 6-4 7-5 victory.
Bouchard even had a set point in the eighth game on Barty's serve but the Australian, who took a two-year break from tennis in 2014 for a stint in cricket's Big Bash League, wriggled out of that corner and won five games in a row to finish off her 24-year-old opponent.
Bouchard, who also reached the Australian and French Open semi-finals during her breakthrough 2014 season before her career went into freefall, paid the price for converting only one of six break points.
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2018 Canada's Eugenie Bouchard in action during the second round match against Australia's Ashleigh Barty REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
Winning the duel between two former Wimbledon junior champions carried Barty into the third round here for the first time. She will next face 14th seed Daria Kasatkina.
(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Clare Fallon)
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2018 Canada's Eugenie Bouchard reacts during the second round match against Australia's Ashleigh Barty REUTERS/Andrew BoyersTennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2018 Australia's Ashleigh Barty shakes hands with Canada's Eugenie Bouchard after winning their second round match REUTERS/Andrew BoyersTennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2018 Canada's Eugenie Bouchard reacts during the second round match against Australia's Ashleigh Barty REUTERS/Andrew BoyersTennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2018 Canada's Eugenie Bouchard in action during the second round match against Australia's Ashleigh Barty REUTERS/Andrew BoyersTennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2018 Canada's Eugenie Bouchard in action during the second round match against Australia's Ashleigh Barty REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
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