Canada's Eugenie Bouchard follows through after returning to Sloane Stephens, of the United States, in first round women's singles tennis at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 6, 2016.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Energized by her participation at the Rio 2016 opening ceremony Friday night, Canadian Eugenie Bouchard was nearly flawless against American Sloane Stephens to advance to the second round of the Olympics tennis tournament.
It took the Westmount, Que., native just 72 minutes to take down the 22nd ranked player in the world on Saturday, winning 6-3, 6-3. Bouchard limited herself to just two unforced errors and was 3-for-7 on break point opportunities.
"I'm a little tired. I'm going to bed early tonight. But it was something that I could not miss," Bouchard said of the spectacle at Maracana Stadium. "That was such a special moment that I'll remember for the rest of my life. If anything it motivated me more today. But I'll sleep early."
"If I had of lost, maybe I would have regretted it," Bouchard, who is ranked 39th in the world rankings, added. "But it was important for me. I said to my coach, 'If I don't go, I will be sad and won't sleep.'
"It just made me so proud and happy. So I'm on a cloud now."
In men's singles action, France's Gael Monfils dominated Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil 6-1, 6-3 in 65 minutes later Saturday.
Monfils, who is currently one of the hottest players in the world, smashed four aces and broke the Canadian five times. Pospisil committed 35 unforced errors.
Bouchard started strong, saving three break points in her first two service games and breaking Stephens to take a 3-0 advantage.
"It set the tone," coach Sylvain Bruneau said. "If she got broken in the first game, who knows what could have happened."
"I thought that I was solid. I was concentrated on each point," Bouchard added. "I put a lot of pressure on her, as much in service as on the returns. It's what gave me the advantage."
Bouchard had no unforced errors in the second set and gave Stephens no chance to get back into the match.
Stephens was her own worst enemy, committing a number of unforced errors and having trouble putting the ball in play.
Bouchard was coming off a third round exit at the women's Rogers Cup in Montreal last week. The Canadian will next face either second-ranked Angelique Kerber of Germany of Colombia's Mariana Duque-Marino. Kerber and Duque-Marino are set to play on Sunday in their first round matchup.
"I'm going to concentrate only on my next match," Bouchard said. "But it's a goal for me to be consistent from match to match. The best players are like that, and I want to be like them."
Bouchard returns to the court on Sunday with doubles partner Gabriela Dabrowski against Poland's Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Paula Kania. Bouchard plays her second round singles match on Monday.