Eugenie Bouchard of Canada overcame a tough second-set challenge from India's Karman Kaur Thandi, winning 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) to advance from the round of 16. By maintaining her focus, the former Wimbledon finalist ensured a straight-sets victory on Wednesday, moving forward into the singles quarterfinals of the Chennai Open WTA 250. Despite a gritty performance from the Indian wildcard, Thandi couldn't quite find a way past the former World No. 5.
With Thandi's defeat, India's hopes in the singles category have officially ended. This follows the earlier exit of India's number one, Ankita Raina, who was outclassed by Tatjana Maria, a 2022 Wimbledon semi-finalist, during their opening match on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old Canadian dominated the early stages of the first set and appeared to be cruising toward a quick win. Thandi did manage to fight back and claim two games, drawing strength from the local supporters in an attempt to level the match. Unfortunately, inconsistency plagued the Indian player's game, allowing the former world No. 5, Bouchard, to seal the set 6-2.
After cruising through the first set, Bouchard found herself in a much tougher fight during the second. The 24-year-old Thandi increased the pressure and came incredibly close to forcing a third set, but she eventually struggled to maintain that intensity and showed signs of fatigue against the Canadian.
After the score sat at 2-2, Thandi gained momentum and won three consecutive games, looking like she might push the match into a decider. She managed a crucial break in the fifth game to take the lead and seemed to be in control before her form dipped. While her serve was solid and her powerful forehand consistently won points early in the set, unforced errors eventually crept in, erasing the advantage she had worked so hard to build.
Thandi unfortunately missed two opportunities to win the set on set points, which gave Bouchard a lifeline. Leveraging her veteran experience, the Canadian fought her way back to level the score at 5-all. Once both players held their serves, Bouchard took full control of the tie-break, closing it out quickly with a 7-2 win.
Following her victory, Bouchard mentioned that she enjoyed the match, despite the crowd being firmly behind her opponent. She wasn't the only Canadian advancing; Rebecca Marino, the seventh seed, also reached the final eight after defeating Poland's Katarzyna Kawa 7-5, 6-3. Additionally, Japanese qualifier Nao Hibino secured her quarterfinal berth by beating the sixth seed, Qiang Wang, 6-2, 6-3.