06 October,2015 07:31 AM IST | | AFP
Canadian tennis sensation, who recently recovered from concussion, retires in tears with score 6-2, 1-1 against Petkovic in China Open Round One
Canada's Eugenie Bouchard (right) receives medical attention during her China Open first round women's singles match against Germany's Andrea Petkovic in Beijing yesterday
Beijing: Eugenie Bouchard's comeback match from concussion ended in tears yesterday when dizzy spells forced her to retire from her China Open first-round match against Andrea Petkovic.
Canada's Eugenie Bouchard (right) receives medical attention during her China Open first round women's singles match against Germany's Andrea Petkovic in Beijing yesterday. Pic/AFP
On a day when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was also hit by dizziness, Bouchard lasted just 10 games before retiring from her first match since she slipped and banged her head in the locker rooms at the US Open. Bouchard skipped last week's Wuhan Open to continue her recovery, but said she had felt ready for Beijing and was bitterly disappointed to retire.
"Unfortunately, I did not feel well enough to finish the match," she said in a statement released by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). "I thought I was physically ready, but unfortunately the symptoms of my concussion came back." Bouchard had her blood pressure checked on court and she then sobbed into her towel before rising and walking off, waving grimly to the crowd, with the score at 6-2, 1-1 to Petkovic.
Earlier Tsonga refused to blame Beijing's notorious air pollution as he was also hit by dizzy spells before falling at the first hurdle 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to little-known Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer. The eighth seed was down in the second set when he staggered on court and took a time-out, during which he had his heartbeat checked with a stethoscope and was given medication.
