Bouchard Slips, Stephens Stumbles in Charleston

Canadian ingénue Eugenie Bouchard has had a tough season to date, and there's no re-set button in sight.

Now, her slump seems like it's becoming contageous.

The top-seeded Bouchard was upset in straight sets in the second round of the Family Circuit Cup in Charleston against unseeded Lauren Davis, 6-3 6-1.

Last year's semi-finalist was completely outplayed. Luckily for her, she had a bye in first round, or the stay could've been shorter.

Davis, incidentally, squeezed by Grace Min in her opening match, so she was steeled for the opportunity and overpowered Bouchard from the baseline. Davis is a talented and versatile player, but she's surely not someone who can be considered as a clay court specalist by any means.

Bouchard's serve almost totally abandoned her; she lost 67% of her second attempts. It's puzzling how a Grand Slam finalist can encounter so much trouble with her confidence and consistency so quickly. It was only nine months ago that she seemed to have it all working:

Maybe it's the tennis version of a sophomore jinx. Maybe it's just time to call Justin Bieber to the rescue.

Damn! What is it about stupid questions Down Under?

However, whaddaya know ... there they were at a charity event in California last month:

As to Bouchard's woes being contagious, Sloane Stephens was another big favorite who was shown the door after losing, 6-3 7-6, against the 39th-ranked Mona Barthel of Germany.

Stephens, though, has had a few decent results in last couple of weeks. Unlike Bouchard, she did manage to actually collect a victory in Charleston, but today's match was a no-brainer for Barthel, who converted 7 out of 9 break points.

After dominating the opening stages, Barthel was the more focused player on the slippery green clay court. She finished the job in second set tiebreaker.

And that was the day for Stephens, who joined Bouchard on the sidelines of an event where both were slated to go much further.