Bouchard beats Sharapova in thriller

Motivated more than usual, Eugenie Bouchard used her game to send a message to Maria Sharapova by defeating the Russian 7-5 2-6 6-4 in a thrilling second-round match at the Madrid Open.

Bouchard, one of the most outspoken players against Sharapova’s return to tennis following a doping ban, jumped up and down after converting her second match point in just under three hours.

The players casually shook hands at the net and exchanged brief plaudits.

It was their first meeting since Bouchard called Sharapova a cheater and said she should have been banned for life from the sport after testing positive for meldonium.

“I definitely had some extra motivation going into today,” Bouchard said.

“I was actually quite inspired before the match because I had a lot of players coming up to me privately wishing me good luck, players I don’t normally speak to, getting a lot of texts from people in the tennis world that were just rooting for me.

“So I wanted to do it for myself, but also all these people. I really felt support.

“It showed me that most people have my opinion, and they were just maybe scared to speak out.”

There were no major signs of animosity between them. They went about their business, not paying too much attention to each other in between points.

Bouchard defeated Sharapova for the first time by taking advantage of the Russian’s 49 unforced errors and struggles on serve, including nine double faults.

Bouchard had not backed off her comments, and said she was looking forward to playing Sharapova, the 2014 Madrid champion.

“It definitely helps when you can back it up,” Bouchard said.

“Obviously, there was a lot going on besides tennis in this match.

“As soon as I stepped on the court, I really just wanted to make it about tennis. We both did that. We just battled our hearts out.”

Sharapova said she didn’t need extra motivation to play against anybody.

“I’m just one of the two players out on the court,” Sharapova said.

“Everything that surrounds myself, I don’t pay attention to much of it. I’ve been part of this game for many years. I know what the drill is.”

There were a few long stares and some loud cheers by the players after some points.

In a tense game near the end of the first set, Sharapova was frustrated after Bouchard won a point with a ball that changed directions from a net cord. Bouchard turned around without directly apologising.

Earlier, top-seeded Angelique Kerber defeated Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-2 1-6 7-5 to advance and regain the world No. 1 ranking.

Second-seeded Karolina Pliskova, ranked third in the world, lost to Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3 6-3 ending her hopes of reaching No. 1 this week.