It took longer than expected, but Canada's Genie Bouchard claimed a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 first-round victory over 20-year-old Gabriella Taylor at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
The Canadian looked to be on the way to a dominant victory against Taylor, the world No. 180 who was making her debut at the famed tournament, but the youngster battled back from a humbling first set to give Bouchard a real test.
Taylor struggled from the outset, hitting five double-faults and was broken three times in the first set as Bouchard cruised to a 20-minute opening-set victory. The Canadian's dominance was evident in the early stages, with Bouchard winning eight points in a row at one stage as the young Brit initally could not overcome the gulf in experience between the two competitors.
Wimbledon 2018: Live results from All England Club
The second set started in much the same fashion, with Bouchard taking a quick 1-0 lead. However, Taylor began to grow in confidence and claimed her first game of the match to even the score at 1-1.
With her home fans cheering her on, Taylor then broke Bouchard's serve for the first time and took a 2-1 lead in the second set, halting what minutes earlier appeared to be unstoppable momentum for Bouchard. The Canadian battled back, claiming two of the next three games, but Taylor cut out many of the mistakes that plagued her in the first set and jumped out to a 5-3 lead. The players then traded games as the youngster claimed the second set 6-4.
Losing the second set seemed to be a wake-up call for Bouchard, who proceeded to storm through the opening stages of the third and deciding set. The 24-year-old jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off her opponent to ultimately claim the match and book passage into the round of 64.
Bouchard's early dominance waned but the Canadian was able to win her first-round match in three sets. #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/MF6MiWAfx8
— Sporting News Canada (@sportingnewsca) July 3, 2018
"I played a perfect first set and then I think I backed off a bit in the second, let her dominate the point too much, so I changed that in the third set," Bouchard told TSN after the match. "To be able to have that [ability to] change I think is important."
This is the first time 🇨🇦 Genie Bouchard has won four straight matches since early in the 2016 season when she made the final at Kuala Lumpur
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) July 3, 2018
Bouchard moves on to face up-and-coming Australian Ashleigh Barty on Thursday.