Continuing on divergent paths, resurgent Barty beats Bouchard in Miami

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As you’ll learn this week, when it comes to tennis, Florida isn’t just a state—it’s a state of mind.

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.—Ashleigh Barty and Eugenie Bouchard, who faced off in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday, couldn’t have possibly taken more different paths to their first encounter.

Bouchard, who reached two Grand Slam semifinals and a Wimbledon final in 2014, started off her career relatively unknown and by the end of her breakthrough season was the new “It Girl” of the WTA. She spent some time in the Top 5 and plenty of time in the spotlight.

“Her 2014 was phenomenal,” Barty said after their contest. “I think [Bouchard] is a quality player. She's still stayed inside the Top 50 for those next couple of years.

“I think it's so tough when you do have that breakout year, backing it up, especially if they come in Slams where the points are so big. If you get a tricky draw, you just never know.”

Bouchard has struggled to back up her huge results, finishing each of the next two seasons outside the Top 40. Currently, the 23-year-old Canadian is currently ranked No. 56.

Then there’s Barty’s 2014. Just 18 at the time, and having reached the Top 200 in singles and making three Grand Slam doubles finals with fellow Australian Casey Dellacqua, Barty decided to walk away from the game, changing sports to try out professional cricket with the Brisbane Heat.

As Bouchard was trying to put her difficult 2015 season behind her last year, Barty was simply rejoining th game. She played just four events but picked up 16 wins. Playing a full schedule in 2017, she pushed world No. 1 Angelique Kerber to three sets to open her year in Brisbane.

“I think that's awesome,” Bouchard said about Barty’s comeback. “She's a very nice girl. So I hope she does well.”

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Already up to No. 91 in the world—not too far away from Bouchard—Barty is showing the kind of talent that made her a highly touted junior and left fans baffled at her decision. She picked up her first career singles title in Kuala Lumpur last month, and won her third doubles title with Dellacqua.

“We sort of said Top 100 is our end of year goal,” Barty said. “It's surprising but really exciting that we're able to reach it already. We've played some good tennis to start of the year, and now I think for us it's about consistency and continuing to chip away and stay inside the Top 100 for the whole year.”

It’s impossible to not notice that Barty may be one of the only players to refer to herself as “we” in a question that isn’t at all about her team. It’s only appropriate for a player that has a strong affinity for team sports—Barty also said that Fed Cup is her favorite time of the year.

“I think I just have a different perspective, in general, coming back I think its because I'm a little bit older now and understand the tour a bit more,” said Barty. “I definitely have a different perspective and I'm enjoying myself a lot more.

“Obviously, it's nice when you're having success but this isn't going to last forever. There are going to be rough times as well but you've just got to ride those.”

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The woman who was across the net from her on Tuesday knows what it’s like to go through rough times. Instead of going for her shots freely like she did in her breakthrough year, and like Barty is doing now, Bouchard has a weight on her shoulders to prove herself again every single week. That dichotomy played out in Key Biscayne, when Barty outlasted Eugenie Bouchard, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, to win her eighth straight match and hand Bouchard her fourth consecutive loss. Bouchard hasn’t won a match since the Australian Open in January.

“It's different,” Bouchard said about the attention she’s received. “It's different than when I was coming up and playing, sometimes it's hard to deal with.”

While another week of struggles closes for Bouchard, Barty’s week already must be considered a success, no matter what she does in her next match against compatriot Sam Stosur.

“The stars aligned for us a little bit this year, so far,” Barty said. “We definitely worked hard for it and I think it's just our hard work is starting to pay off.”

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Barty had the edge most of the match, leading much of the entire first set and having opportunities to win in straights at 5-5 in the second. Bouchard pulled out that set, but in the end, it was Barty who held a critical service edge—at least in the very last games of the match, when it counted most.

With Barty on serve at 4-3 in the third, she fought off a pair of break points and hit a huge T-serve ace at deuce. She then lost her first game point on an insanely close challenge—literally a half millimeter out. Unfazed, Barty hit another ace down the T, and sealed the hold with a netted backhand from Bouchard.

“I’m certainly not the tallest girl on the tour, so I know that I have to sort of try and match the girls in the way,” the 5’5” Barty said. “I know for me it's trying to be super aggressive especially off the first ball in the rally.”

Instead of stepping up at 3-5, Bouchard served two double faults in a row to go down triple match point. When Barty converted match point, it marked Bouchard’s fifth straight loss in Miami.

“I don’t really feel positive right now,” Bouchard said. “It's been a bit of a struggle.”

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