• Canadian had claimed Russian should be banned for life for doping • Bouchard now faces Angelique Kerber in third round of Madrid Open

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Eugenie Bouchard produced a brilliant fighting display to win her grudge match against Maria Sharapova at the Madrid Open.

The pair faced each other in the second round with Bouchard winning a tense match 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

The Canadian world No60 had called Sharapova “a cheater” before the Russian’s return to competitive action in April after a 15-month doping ban. It was Bouchard’s first win against Sharapova, who she believes should be banned from tennis for life.

Sharapova, a five-times grand slam winner, was initially banned by the International Tennis Federation for two years after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. It was reduced to 15 months and, in October, the court of arbitration for sport said she was not an “intentional doper”.

Bouchard was still hugely critical of Sharapova, though, and the Russian looked to gain some kind of payback early on in their Madrid match. She needed to save two break points in the fifth game but broke Bouchard in the sixth with a brutal forehand winner to lead 4-2. Bouchard immediately broke back and capitalised on sloppy play from Sharapova, who made six double faults in the first set, to break again. Yet Bouchard missed the chance to win the set when she dropped her serve to make it 5-5.

Play Video 0:35 Sharapova 'a cheater' and should not play tennis again, says Bouchard – video

Sharapova then lost a 12-minute service game as Bouchard broke and the Canadian eventually took the opening set 7-5 after 70 minutes. Sharapova, who struggled with her serve all evening, recovered in the second, again claiming a 4-2 lead. This time she did not let Bouchard back in as shewrapped it up 6-2.

Neither player was prepared to give ground in the decider as Sharapova survived five break points in the fifth game. Bouchard’s pressure paid off when she broke to love to go 4-3 up, only for Sharapova to hit instantly back. But another break from Bouchard allowed her to serve for the match to set up a third-round tie with Angelique Kerber.

Kerber defeated Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 to regain the world No1 ranking. The German top seed overcame seven double faults and won the final four games to defeat the Czech in just under two hours.

Maria Sharapova’s competitive instincts intact on her return from the wilderness | Jacob Steinberg Read more

Karolina Pliskova, seeded second for the tournament and ranked third in the world, lost against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-3, ending her hopes of reaching No1 this week. That meant Kerber was guaranteed to retake the top ranking from Serena Williams.

Lara Arruabarrena defeated the 15th seed Barbora Strycova 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Kristina Mladenovic edged out the American Lauren Davis 6-3, 1-6, 7-6. Svetlana Kuznetsova knocked out Alison Riske, with the Russian coming from behind to win 2-6, 7-6, 6-2.

The men’s world No1 Andy Murray, a two-times Madrid champion, will face Marius Copil in the second round today after Copil saved two match points to defeat his fellow wild card Guillermo García-López to win 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.

Murray has endured a difficult time after returning from an elbow injury, crashing out against the Spanish world No24 Albert Ramos-Viñolas in the Monte Carlo Masters last 16, and then enduring semi-final defeat by the Austrian Dominic Thiem at the Barcelona Open. Agencies