(Rome) Eugenie Bouchard lost 7-6 (4), 6-3 to Hungary’s Dalma Galfi in the first round of qualifying at the Rome women’s tennis tournament on Monday.
It was the second career match between the two players, but their first on clay. The 29-year-old Quebecer had beaten Galfi 6-3, 6-2 in qualifying for the tournament in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in 2022.
Bouchard, who is currently ranked 233rd in the world in singles, lost after an hour and 46 minutes of play to Galfi, who is ranked 91st.
Galfi, the seventh seed in the qualifying table, will face American Taylor Townsend, the 17th seed, in the next round.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s Katherine Sebov lost 6-4, 6-3 to Russia’s Polina Kudermetova in the first round of qualifying. Kudermetova will meet 10th-seeded Magdalena Frech of Poland in the second round.
Quebec’s Leylah Annie Fernandez will face Belarus player Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round of the main draw later this week.
For her part, Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu, the 24th seed in the tournament, had a bye to the second round. She will cross swords there with the winner of the first round match between the Estonian Kaia Kanepi and the Czech Marketa Vondrousova.
