Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard booked her place at the Toray Pan Pacific quarterfinals with a straight sets victory over former top-ranked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia. The score was 7-5, 6-2.
“I wasn’t at my best in the first set – she was controlling the points more, and I wasn’t aggressive enough,” Bouchard said. “Nathalie told me to be more aggressive, which is my game. So I started to do that, and it worked out. I turned the match around from that point on, so it was helpful advice.”
This is Bouchard’s debut at this WTA Premier event but she revealed that she was in Tokyo around the same time last year hoping to qualify for the event.
“Last year I came here and thought I would get in, but I didn’t even get into qualies – I was two out of qualies. So I was just here practicing. But this year my luck changed because I was last in the main draw. Of course my ranking’s improved in the past year, so getting in this year is thanks to that.
“Now I’m just taking advantage of being main draw. I’m happy to play as many matches as I can.”
This is Bouchard’s second victory over a top-10 player. She will next face 7-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in the quarterfinals.
