Canadian Eugenie Bouchard loses in opening round of Lyon Open

LYON, France – Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard lost 7-6 (7), 6-2 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus in the opening round of the Lyon Open on Tuesday.

Bouchard, given a wild-card entry into the event, was broken six times against the 96th-ranked Sasnovich at the WTA Tour 250 event.

The 143rd-ranked Bouchard, from Westmount, Que, was playing in her first main draw of the year after failing to qualify for the Australian Open.

In doubles play, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and partner Anna Blinkova of Russia beat Lucie Hradecka and Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 5-7, 6-4, 11-9 to advance to the quarterfinals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 2, 2021.