Genie Bouchard bounced from US Open qualifying rounds

Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard fell short in her bid to qualify for the US Open, losing to Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3 in third round action Thursday in New York.

Noskova, 17, had five aces to Bouchard’s three and had an 88 per cent win rate on first serve to Bouchard’s 63 per cent. Noskova also won three of five break points.

Bouchard had posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Yuki Naito of Japan in qualifying on Tuesday. It was the first win for the 28-year-old since March 2021. She has been sidelined with a shoulder injury that required surgery and returned to action last week, when she lost to Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands in the first round of a WTA 125 event in Vancouver.

Nonetheless, three other Canadians namely Leylah Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu and Rebecca Marino, earned direct entries into the main draw, which begins Monday.