Bouchard emphatically leads Canada to 3-0 sweep of Serbia in Fed Cup tie

MONTREAL – Montreal’s Eugenie Bouchard beat Serbia’s Vesna Dolonc 6-0, 6-3 to power Canada to victory in its Fed Cup World Group II tie Sunday.

The win gave Canada a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five tie at the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex.

Canada will advance to the World Group playoffs, giving the team the chance to advance from the World Group II to a higher division that includes the world’s eight best teams. Who the Canadians face next hasn’t yet been determined.

Leading 5-3 in the second set, Bouchard, 19, sent the No. 117-ranked Dolonc the wrong way to secure the advantage. She then cemented the victory emphatically with an ace.

The No. 19-ranked Bouchard needed less than 20 minutes to take the first set, surrendering just seven points in the process.

But Dolonc put up a fight in the second set, breaking Bouchard in the first game. She then held serve to force a 2-2 tie.

Bouchard beat 24-year-old Dolonc 6-3, 6-1 in their only previous encounter in the qualifying draw in Cincinnati last year.

Bouchard’s victory means teammate Aleksandra Wozniak, of Blainville, Que., won’t play her singles game Sunday. Instead, the tie will end with Toronto’sSharon Fichman and Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski playing Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Nina Stojanovic in doubles.

On Saturday, Bouchard beat the No. 149-ranked Jovana Jaksic 6-1, 6-0 while Wozniak defeated Dolonc 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to give Canada its 2-0 advantage.