Music: {allcanada} Raonic, Bouchard reach 3rd round at French Open

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

{allcanada} Raonic, Bouchard reach 3rd round at French Open

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PARIS — Canadians Eugenie Bouchard and Milos Raonic reached the third round of the French Open on Wednesday.

Bouchard managed a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 come-from-behind win over German Julia Goerge while eighth-seeded Raonic beat Czech Jiri Vesely 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-1 to reach the third round for a third consecutive year.

Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., came back from a break down in the first set and won the hour-long opener in a tiebreak before taking control of the match.

Bouchard struggled in the first set before rallying.

“I wasn’t worried after the first, I just took my time,” said Bouchard. “I just really tried to forget about that I lost the first set and just start fresh. That’s what I did for the second and third.”

The 18th seed from Westmount, Que., will play Swede Johanna Larsson, who upset 12th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

“For sure it definitely wasn’t one of my best days, but I’m proud that I was able to turn it around,”said Bouchard. “It was definitely more of a mental win today to get my game back in the right place.”

Bouchard said she stayed mentally strong.

“I have confidence that no matter what happens on the court, I can fight and still give my best and give myself the best chance to win,” said Bouchard.

Bouchard broke the 107th-ranked Goerges to end the match, taking the victory with 21 winners and conversions on six of 13 break points.

Bouchard broke twice in the second set and began the third with another break of the German as she raced to a 5-0 lead. But she lost serve in the next game after a forehand error.

She immediately recovered a game later, breaking Goerges back and advancing on her first match point.

“In the first set I felt I wasn’t in the right mental frame of mind, and it just wasn’t good enough for my standards,” Bouchard. “I just needed to regroup after that, and I really focused and got back to playing the way I need to play, which is stepping in, going for my shots.”

Bouchard, a semifinalist at the Australian Open, arrived in Paris after her first WTA title last week in Germany. She was eliminated in the second round at Roland Garros last year, her French Open debut.

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