Bouchard out as lawsuit goes on

Eugenie Bouchard wrung her hands during her post-match news conference. She rubbed her lower lip, squeezed her left arm.

While her body language screamed discomfort Tuesday, when the main topic of discussion was her lawsuit against the U.S. Open rather than her first-round loss, her words were measured. The once-rising star answered every question.

A year ago at Flushing Meadows, Bouchard got a concussion from a fall at the facility and withdrew before playing in the fourth round, and then missed most of the rest of the season. She filed suit against the U.S. Tennis Assn. in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn in October, and that case is still pending, putting the 2014 Wimbledon runner-up in the odd position of competing this week at an event whose organizers she is suing.

“If I sit down and think about it, yeah, it’s definitely a strange situation. But it’s something that’s so far in the back of my mind,” Bouchard said. “. . . It has nothing to do with my day-to-day life.”

Her 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 exit against 72nd-ranked Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, a player who only once has been as far as the third round at a major tournament, was filled with 46 unforced errors by Bouchard, who also was treated for blisters on her feet. It was the latest early loss for a 22-year-old Canadian who reached three Grand Slam semifinals two years ago — and none since.

In other first-round action on Day 2 at the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, Serena Williams started her bid for a record-breaking 23rd major title by showing zero signs of trouble from a right shoulder she’s said was sore, hitting 12 aces in a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ekaterina Makarova. Second-seeded Andy Murray, the 2012 Open champion, began his attempt to become the fourth man in the Open era to reach all four Grand Slam finals in a single year, beating Lukas Rosol, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Murray won his second Wimbledon title last month and an Olympic gold medal this month.

Earlier, Williams’ sister Venus outlasted Kateryna Kozlova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. Former USC player Steve Johnson, the 19th-seeded man, rallied past Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy, 4-6, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-3. Another American, 19-year-old Jared Donaldson, upset 12th-seeded David Goffin, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-0. But No. 29 Sam Querrey, who stunned Djokovic at Wimbledon, lost to Janko Tipsarevic.