Eugenie Bouchard claims thrilling victory over ‘cheater’ Maria Sharapova in Madrid Open grudge match

Eugenie Bouchard pulled off her first win over Maria Sharapova with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 triumph in the Madrid Open on Monday in a thrilling contest full of tension after the Canadian had called the Russian a cheater following her doping ban.

Bouchard, 23, saw the five-time grand slam winner as her idol when she was growing up but her admiration vanished when Sharapova tested positive for the banned substance meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open, which led to a 15-month suspension.

The match was the most eagerly anticipated when the draw was made after Bouchard’s comments in the Turkish media in April when she said Sharapova was a “cheater” and should not have been allowed to compete again following her positive test.

Bouchard stood by her comments about Sharapova on arriving in the Spanish capital and after Monday’s victory the Canadian said recent events had made her more fired up for the game.

“I definitely had some extra motivation going into today, Obviously I had never beaten her before and then there were other circumstances,” she told a news conference.

“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.”