Last fall in Tokyo, Eugenie Bouchard fell to Venus Williams in three hard-fought sets.  Bouchard avenged that setback today in Charleston by battling past the seven-time major champion in another three-setter, which left no American women in the Family Circle Cup.

Asserting herself at the outset, Bouchard claimed an early break in the first set.  She also would lead by a break later in the set as she served for it at 6-5, but Venus erased both deficits to force a tiebreak.  There, she nearly snatched a set that she had seemed likely to lose.  The American veteran led by 3-1, 4-2, and 5-3, eventually holding double set point at 6-4.  From that promising position, however, Venus lost the next four points as Bouchard claimed a one-set lead.

Such a seasoned competitor would not flinch after losing that 61-minute set.  Venus showed her champion's pedigree in dominating the second set, when she won more than half of the points on Bouchard's serve.  That momentum swing extended into the third set as she claimed an early break.

The 20-year-old Bouchard then had the chance to display her resilience.  Regaining the break immediately, the Canadian righted the ship on serve and held convincingly for the rest of the serve.  As the tension mounted, a final-set tiebreak looked like a definite possibility.  But Bouchard broke Venus in the 10th game of the third set to abruptly end their encounter after an entertaining two hours and 15 minutes.

This battle between the past and future of the WTA hinged in part on the American's ability to find first serves when it mattered.  Venus maintained a solid first-serve percentage of 67% throughout the match overall, but she often found herself reduced to second serves on key points.  In that situation, her percentage of service points won plummeted from 75% to 35%, a dramatic and costly differential.  Less effective on her first serve, by contrast, Bouchard also protected her second serve more reliably than Venus did.

Considering the American's strong start to the 2014 season, the Canadian should gain satisfaction from her victory.  A semifinalist at the Australian Open, Bouchard reaches the quarterfinals at this Premier event.  Tomorrow, she likely will face world No. 6 Jelena Jankovic in yet another intriguing matchup.

Other early action of note at the Family Circle Cup included a victory by Jana Cepelova, who had upset Serena Williams in the second round.  Cepelova became the first woman since Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon last summer to win her next match after defeating Serena.  Third seed Sara Errani, flying under the radar during her ongoing struggles, edged fellow doubles star Peng Shuai in two tiebreaks.