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 The 21-year-old Bouchard, whose career hit the buffers last year
following her break-out 2014 season when she reached the Wimbledon
final, crumbled under the lights of Rod Laver Arena after sprinting
into a 4-2 lead in the first set.
She lost six straight games to gift the set and an early break in
the second to the Polish fourth seed, and was then powerless to
mount a challenge as her forehand misfired and the errors started
piling up.
Staring down the barrel at 5-2, Bouchard was presented with one last
chance to rally, having prised three break-points as Radwanska
served for the match.
But the 37th-ranked Canadian squandered them all in a run of four
unforced errors, capitulating meekly at the tournament that was the
springboard for her sensational 2014.
"I definitely felt in control at that moment ... You can't ever back
off her and give her a chance to breathe," Bouchard explained to
reporters about her failure to capitalise on such an encouraging
start in the night session match.
Bouchard made the semi-finals at Melbourne Park and the French Open
that year before going one better at Wimbledon, prompting pundits
and former players to declare her a future grand slam champion.
Reaching a peak of world number five, she made the Australian Open
quarter-finals last year before the wheels fell off with first-round
exits at the French Open and Wimbledon.
A more promising run to the fourth round of the U.S. Open ended in
drama when she slipped and fell on the locker room floor and had to
withdraw from the tournament with concussion.
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She later sued the United States Tennis Association and was unable
to complete a match for the rest of the year.
Though speaking of new beginnings in Australia and bringing a new
coach in former Maria Sharapova mentor Thomas Hogstedt, Bouchard
appeared to arrive with other baggage.
Her encouraging run to the final of the Hobart International was
ended with a 6-1 6-2 meltdown against Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, and
she complained of being distracted by "personal family issues" at
home.
However, she tried to remain upbeat after her loss to Radwanska.
"If I lose every match I'm still happy to be out there doing what I
love," she said. "I just want to play as much as possible. I kind of
almost want to play catch-up."
(Editing by Martyn Herman)
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