INDIAN WELLS – Genie Bouchard is not the best practice player in the world.
So it’s pretty hard to get a read on where her form is, based on playing practice sets against another player.
Add to that the leftiness of Ekaterina Makarova, and the tough spin, it wasn’t the best practice ever. But Bouchard seemed healthy enough. And the good news came a few hours later when the women’s singles draw was made.
Bouchard will face German Annika Beck, ranked No. 61 (her career high of No. 37 came last June).
Their head-to-head is 1-1; Beck defeated Bouchard easily in the qualifying in Dubai in 2014, during an unsuccessful trip to the Middle East right after playing Fed Cup in Montreal.
Last summer in New Haven, just before the US Open, Bouchard trounced Beck 6-2, 6-1.
In seven tournaments this year, Beck has four first-round losses and two second-round losses, so it’s not going all that well.
Here’s what it looked like. You didn’t need to watch her shots land during the practice; all you had to do was listen to the gathered crowd. The fans either clapped, or groaned; for Makarova, there was no reaction. 🙂
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