Chennai Open: Karman Kaur Thandi sets up Eugenie Bouchard clash

Chennai, September 12

India’s Karman Kaur Thandi showed her fighting spirit to enter the Round of 16 in the Chennai Open WTA 250 tennis tournament after a come-from-behind victory here today.

Thandi beat eighth seed Chloe Paquet of France 4-6 6-4 6-3 to set up a clash with Canada’s former world No. 5 Eugenie Bouchard.

“This is definitely the biggest win of my career coming as it did in a 250 event. Even after losing the first set, I had the belief that I could turn things around,” Thandi said.

The 28-year-old Bouchard began her campaign with a 7-6(4) 6-2 win over Joanne Zuger of Switzerland.

Bouchard roared to a 4-1 lead after losing her serve in the opening game of the match before letting her opponent back into the set.

The former Wimbledon finalist, however, regained her focus to first save a set point at 5-6 and then snatch the tie-break to go a set up. In the second set, Bouchard, who is on a comeback trail after an injury, raised her game to secure her first WTA main draw victory since March 2021.

In other matches, Katarzyna Kawa beat Astra Sharma 6-4 6-3 and Nao Hibino beat Jana Fett 6-0 6-4.