Eugenie Bouchard falls in qualifying at National Bank Open in Montreal

In a three-set duel, hometown favourite Eugenie Bouchard had some good moments but not enough to book a ticket to the second round of the National Bank Open women's singles qualifiers on Saturday in Montreal.

In her first match on the IGA Stadium centre court since 2018, Bouchard was defeated in three sets, 6-1, 1-6, 6-1, by 49th-ranked American Danielle Collins.

The momentum shifted throughout the match, and all three sets were quick. The first set lasted 29 minutes, and the next two each took 27.

After giving hope to the spectators by equalizing the match at one set each, Bouchard lost her composure in the third against a highly respectable opponent who reached the Australian Open final in 2022.

Before holding serve in the sixth game of the set, Bouchard only managed six points in the previous five games, which she lost in just 17 minutes.

For the 29-year-old from Montreal, who once reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 in 2014 but is now ranked 223rd, it was another disappointing outing at IGA Stadium, where she holds a career record of three wins and seven losses.

Bouchard started the first set well by breaking Collins's serve, but that turned out to be her only positive moment in that set. Making numerous errors, Bouchard conceded the next six games.

Just when everyone seemed to be expecting a quick exit for Bouchard, she responded with vigour and flair by winning the first three games of the second set.

Supported by a decent crowd, considering it was a first-round qualifying match, Bouchard had her best moments in the match during the sixth game of the second set.

With Collins serving, Bouchard first handled a drop shot well. Using a smooth movement, she reached the ball and executed a crosscourt backhand to earn herself a breakpoint.

She then controlled the next point, making Collins move left and right before hitting a beautiful crosscourt backhand volley, securing her second break of the set and a 5-1 lead.

All six Canadians fell short of advancing to the second round of qualifying.

The first to fall was Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ont., who lost 6-3, 6-3 to Spain's Cristina Bucsa.

Later, 18-year-old Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., ranked 414th in the world with only seven career matches at the WTA level, came close to causing an upset against American Alycia Parks, the 48th-ranked player in the world.

Despite conceding the first set, Parks managed to turn things around and eventually won 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 despite her impressive total of 17 double faults.

A third Canadian elimination followed, as Bianca Fernandez, Leylah's younger sister, lost in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3 against Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, the 46th-ranked player in the world and the top seed in the qualifying draw.

Later in the day, Toronto's Katherine Sebov, the highest-ranked of the six Canadian players in the qualifying draw at No. 144, lost in three sets to American Peyton Stearns, while 19-year-old Mia Kupres of Edmonton also lost in three sets against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.

Men's qualifying

There were several takeaways for Canada's Justin Boulais on Saturday even if the scoreline in his first career ATP Tour match was unflattering.

The 21-year-old from Oakville, Ont., dropped a 6-0, 6-3 decision to Corentin Moutet of France in first-round qualification play on the men's side of the National Bank Open in Toronto.

Boulais, a first-team All Big Ten player at Ohio State University, has been playing lower-tier events of late as he continues the transition from college to the pro game.

The Masters 1000 event — an environment that Boulais called a "bit overwhelming" — was a noticeable change from his previous tournaments.

Moutet worked in lighter, spin-heavy serves before uncorking powerful ground strokes to keep the Canadian on his heels. He used deft touch up front and his slices, lobs and dink shots prevented Boulais from finding his rhythm.

The 490th-ranked Boulais, who has one semester left at OSU, is aiming to crack the top 200 and earn a spot in the Australian Open qualifiers in January. Next up is a trip to Winnipeg for a Challenger event later this month.

A U18 national men's singles champion in 2018, Boulais seemed tight in the opening set on a warm, sunny and breezy afternoon. He loosened up in the second set but unforced errors proved costly.

Moutet completed the win in 73 minutes. Former WTA Tour player Patricia Hy-Boulais felt her son did "quite well" overall against the eight-year pro.

Earlier, Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., dropped a 7-6 (6), 6-4 decision to Argentina's Diego Schwartzman. Aleksandar Vukic of Australia posted a 6-3, 6-4 win over Dan Martin of Laval, Que.

Brayden Schnur of Pickering, Ont., needed almost three hours to defeat American Maxime Cressy 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5.

Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., was defeated 6-2, 6-4 in a late match by Australia's Max Purcell.

The 28-man qualification draw will determine the eight qualifiers for the main draw starting Monday.

Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal are two of the headliners at the $7.62-million US tournament, which continues through Aug. 13.

Alcaraz, who's 47-4 this season, is coming off a five-set victory over Novak Djokovic in last month's Wimbledon final.

At No. 10, Auger-Aliassime is the only seeded Canadian in the field. Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., withdrew earlier this week due to a knee injury.

Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., Montreal's Gabriel Diallo and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., have wild-card entries.

Diallo and Galarneau will also team up in doubles while Pospisil will partner with Nicolas Mahut of France. The other Canadian entry is the duo of Vancouver's Benjamin Sigouin and Toronto's Kelsey Stevenson.