Karman stuns eighth seed Chloe Paquet; Bouchard wins

CHENNAI: In probably her best result ever, India No.2 Karman Kaur Thandi pulled off an upset 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over No.8 Chloe Paquet of France in the first round of the WTA Chennai Open 250 at the SDAT Stadium here on Monday.

Karman held her nerve in the decider against the experienced French player to record a memorable win at ‘home’.

“This is definitely the biggest win of my career coming as it was in a 250 event,” Karman said after showing the eighth seed the exit door.

“Even after losing the first set, I had the belief that I could turn things around. The crowd helped me a lot. My opponent played extremely well,” Karman added.

After the duo was locked in an even battle in the first few games of the third set, the Indian broke away in the seventh to nose ahead. Karman took full advantage as Paquet appeared to lose steam in the decider. The 24-year old Indian had bounced back after losing the first set to take the second, holding serve in the 10th game despite a blip. “My forehand is my strength and I wanted to make the most of it,” said Karman, who smacked several winners.

Earlier, Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, on a comeback trail, began her campaign with a 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Joanne Zuger from Switzerland. She was joined in the second round by compatriot and seventh seed Rebecca Marino.

The 28-year-old Bouchard roared to a 4-1 lead after losing her serve in the opening game of the match, but let her opponent back into the set. However, mistakes at crucial junctures pegged Zuger back as the former Wimbledon finalist managed to snatch the tie-break. Bouchard had saved a set point at 5-6 with a superb backhand.

In the second set, Bouchard raised her game and won it quite easily to secure her first WTA main draw victory since March 2021. “I never thought of giving up. It (tennis) is a passion. I missed playing. I had not undergone a surgery for 27 years, but had to do so when I was 28,” Bouchard said when asked if she had entertained thoughts of walking away from the sport.

RESULTS:First round: Singles: C Paquet lost to Karman 6-4, 4-6, 3-6; J Zuger lost to E Bouchard 6-7(4), 2-6; A Blinkova lost to R Marino 5-7, 2-6; J Fett lost to N Hibino 0-6, 4-6; K Kawa bt A Sharma 6-4, 6-3; E Liang lost to L Fruhvirtova 6-4, 1-6, 3-6.