Her answer was to be invisible. Well, if you’re a fan of the Westmount, Que., native, you’re not happy that wish came true during the first round of women’s singles at the Odlum Brown VanOpen on Tuesday, where Bouchard was eliminated in 70 minutes by Arianne Hartono. Netherlands 6-2, 6-2. Granted, it was the 28-year-old’s first taste of singles competition in 17 months due to surgery and rehabilitation on her right shoulder. She seemed rusty and unsure at times, which was to be expected. But Hartono, who felt she “stumbled a bit” at the start, quickly found her footing and looked unstoppable on the day. A former world No. 5, Bouchard was playing singles for the first time since losing in the first round of a tournament in Mexico in March 2021. It has been some time between wins. Bouchard became the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam singles final in 2014 when she lost in the Wimbledon final to Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, the country commonly known as the Czech Republic. Since then, Bouchard has dealt with multiple injuries, including a concussion after falling in a practice room at the US Open in September 2015. Bouchard remains alive in the women’s doubles draw, where she and 17-year-old partner Kayla Cross of London, Ont., will play American Asia Muhammad and Japan’s Miyu Kato in the quarterfinals after overcoming the Italian combination of Lucia Bronzetti and Elisabetta Cocciaretto. on Sunday 6-1, 6-7(3), 10-4. In other women’s singles action Tuesday, 31-year-old Rebecca Marino of Vancouver, seeded sixth in the tournament at Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver, fell in a three-set thriller to 21-year-old Emma Navarro of New York 6-4, 4-6 , 6-7 (7) in the match of the night that took two hours and 12 minutes to play. Earlier, Australia’s Priscilla Hon defeated Montreal’s Marina Stakusic 6-3, 6-3. On the men’s side, Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver defeated Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves of Brazil 7-5, 6-3 in a match that lasted 84 minutes. With the win, the 32-year-old, who grew up in BC, will move into the 16 on Wednesday. One of the biggest surprises of the day was the surprise victory of Laval, Que., wildcard Alexis Galarneau, who battled back and forth with top-seeded Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan. Galarneau lost the first set 5-7, bounced back to win the second 6-4 and, just before the start of the third and deciding set, Nishioka retired. The tournament, which this year was promoted to a combined ATP Challenger Tour 125 and WTA 125 event, concludes on Sunday.
