Bouchard makes her point to Sharapova
Eugenie Bouchard beat a cheater Monday to advance to the third round of the Madrid Open tennis tournament. And make no mistake about it: Maria Sharapova is a cheater.
Bouchard’s 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 victory came less than two weeks after she called Sharapova a cheater and said the Russian should have been banned for life instead of getting a 15-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium at last year’s Australian Open.
“She is a cheater and so, to me, I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again,” Bouchard told Turkish broadcaster TRT World at the Istanbul Cup.
“It’s so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way.”
Good for Bouchard for calling out Sharapova, and even better that she followed it up by beating the five-time Grand Slam champion on the court.
Sharapova was initially barred for two years, but that was reduced to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, yet another example of going soft on drug cheats after they get caught.
It was reported Sharapova had been taking meldonium for many years, but had overlooked the fact the World Anti-Doping Agency added the heart drug to its banned list in 2016.
Bouchard isn’t the only WTA player upset Sharapova has been granted wild card entries to major tournaments rather than having to build up ranking points herself at smaller tournaments and qualifying events after serving a drug ban. While so many people — including Sharapova’s sponsor Nike — are willing to forgive her drug offence, it was refreshing to hear Bouchard speak out.
“I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids: ‘Cheat and we will welcome you back with open arms,’ ” Bouchard said in Istanbul.
“I don’t think that’s right and definitely she is not someone I can say I look up to anymore.”
There’s a famous photo in tennis circles from 15 years ago of an eight-year-old Bouchard posing with a much taller 15-year-old Sharapova at a tennis camp. After beating Sharapova on Monday, the five-foot-10 Bouchard shook the six-foot-two Sharapova’s hand at the net and then stared straight into her eyes.
Mental toughness has been a big problem for Bouchard as she has fallen to No. 60 in the world rankings after peaking at No. 5 three years ago.
But the fight and determination that led her to the Wimbledon final in 2014 were on display again Monday against Sharapova.
Bravo, Genie.