NEW YORK – Bothered by the heat and stifling humidity, Eugenie Bouchard felt dizzy, and her vision was blurry.
Bouchard tried to carry on, but it was hardly an ideal time to try to win a tennis match. The No. 7-seeded Bouchard became the latest top woman to bow out at this surprise-filled U.S. Open, beaten 7-6 (2), 6-4 on Monday by 17th-seeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in the fourth round.
It ended Bouchard’s streak of making at least the semifinals at each Grand Slam tournament this year. That included a runner-up finish at Wimbledon in July; the 20-year-old Canadian is only 4-4 since then.
“I definitely felt a lot of outside expectations and pressure to win matches. I felt more like it’s normal if I win, and it’s a bit more of a disaster when I lose,” Bouchard said. “But that’s something that I need to block out.”
In muggy air, with the temperature in the high 80s, Bouchard began having trouble from the middle of the first set and was checked on by a trainer during the changeover after the second set’s fifth game. During that delay, Makarova cooled down by putting ice bags on herself.
It’s not the first time Bouchard has been affected by heat, saying it happened at last year’s U.S. Open, too, and as a junior at the Australian Open.
“Once in a while, I get a little bit light-headed,” Bouchard said. “That’s what happens.”
Her exit means that, for the first time since 1977, eight women will have filled the eight finalist slots at a season’s Grand Slam tournaments.
While Makarova is into the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the second year in a row, Bouchard’s early-for-her major exit certainly fits with the way things have gone the past eight days. Of the top 10 seeded women, only two remain: No. 1 Serena Williams and No. 10 Wozniacki.
The top-seeded man, Novak Djokovic, played mostly mistake-free tennis, making only 19 unforced errors and facing only two break points – both saved – in a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 victory over 22nd-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.
Djokovic, the 2011 U.S. Open champion, earned a spot in the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open for the eighth year in a row – and at a 22nd consecutive Grand Slam tournament overall.
Djokovic now meets two-time major champion Andy Murray, who got past No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 7-5, 6-4.
In fourth-round men’s matches Monday night, No. 3 Stan Wawrinka brushed off a tumble into the stands and beat No. 16 Tommy Robredo 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 before No. 5 Milos Raonic played No. 10 Kei Nishikori.
Williams got to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal of 2014 by overwhelming 50th-ranked Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-3, 6-3 on Monday. Williams has lost 17 games all told – the eighth time she’s made it to the U.S. Open quarterfinals dropping that many or fewer.
Pursuing a third consecutive U.S. Open title and 18th Grand Slam championship, Williams has avoided potential matchups against Bouchard, Kvitova and past major champions Ana Ivanovic and Sam Stosur, who beat Williams in the 2011 U.S. Open final.
Williams is 5-0 against her next opponent, No. 11 Flavia Pennetta of Italy.
