EUGENIE BOUCHARD let her tennis do the talking as she dug deep to beat Maria Sharapova at the Madrid Open – just weeks after insisting the former world number one should be banned for life.
Canadian star Bouchard has been one of Sharapova’s most outspoken critics after the Russian made a return to the game following a 15-month doping ban.
She labelled Sharapova a cheat and claimed she should no longer be allowed to play the game after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.
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Her anti-drugs stance led to huge interest in the second round match in Spain as the two foes went head-to-head for the first time since the five time Grand Slam winner made her comeback last month.
And Bouchard dig deep in a tense contest where it was clear both players wanted to make a statement with the result.
In the end it was 23-year-old Bouchard who came through 7-4 2-6 6-4 as she beat Sharapova for the first time in her career.
Bouchard said: “At points in the match, I definitely did not feel the rhythm.
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“There was a little bit of up and down in the match, for sure. I had moments where I was a bit frustrated. I thought I could play better.
“But overall, you know, with the whole mental aspect, just fighting and playing almost a three-hour match, the physical battles, I mean, she’s playing really well right now.
“Everything together, for sure, it’s one of my more prouder matches in the past couple years.”
Sharapova needed to save two break points in the fifth game of the first set but broke Bouchard in the sixth with a brutal forehand winner to lead 4-2.
Bouchard immediately broke back and capitalised on sloppy play from Sharapova, who made six double faults in the first set, to break again.
Yet Bouchard missed the chance to win the first set when she dropped her serve to make it 5-5.
Sharapova then lost a 12-minute service game as Bouchard broke and the Canadian eventually took the opening set 7-5 after 70 minutes.
Sharapova, who struggled with her serve all evening, recovered in the second, again claiming a 4-2 lead.
This time she did not let Bouchard back in as she wrapped it up 6-2.
Neither player was prepared to give ground in the decider as Sharapova survived five break points in the fifth game.
Bouchard's pressure paid off when she broke to love to go 4-3 up, only for Sharapova to instantly hit back.
But another break from Bouchard allowed her to serve for the match to set up a third-round tie with Angelique Kerber.
Sharapova said afterwards: "I definitely thought I should have taken care of the first set. I had a let-down, being up a break.
"I was happy with the way I changed things around in the second, stepped in, was a little bit more aggressive inside the baseline.
"Then the third, kind of felt like it was a similar pattern: set up opportunities, breakpoints, and just did not convert them."
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