Bouchard’s in no mood for talking at Wimbledon
LONDON — Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard generated plenty of headlines on Tuesday and it wasn’t for her firstround victory in the qualification draw at Wimbledon.
A one-time finalist at the All-England Club, Bouchard gave a terse post-match interview after her 6-0, 6-2 win over Lin Zhu of China. Despite posting a comfortable victory, Bouchard appeared less than enthused and provided pithy answers to the broadcaster’s questions.
A former top-five player, the 24-year-old Canadian has tumbled down the rankings in recent years. Bouchard currently sits at No. 191 on the WTA Tour list.
It wasn’t immediately clear why Bouchard seemed so displeased. Online reaction was swift after video of the 35-second interview started making the rounds on social media.
The New York Post’s online headline read: “Eugenie Bouchard doesn’t seem happy after rare victory.”
The Independent said Bouchard’s answers were “curt,” adding in a Twitter post the “icy post-match interview raises eyebrows.”
The toughest question was the last one: “How hard is it having been in a final here to come back and to have to go through qualifying?” the interviewer asked.
“It’s not hard at all,” Bouchard said. “I’m happy to be here.”
The interviewer thanked Bouchard, who nodded and walked away.
Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., has yet to beat a top-75 opponent this season.
Bouchard will face world No. 219 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the next round. A third-round victory would get Bouchard a spot in the main draw.
In other women’s firstround qualifying matches, Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., advanced, while Montreal’s Francoise Abanda and Ontario’s Carol Zhao were ousted.
In men’s second-round qualifying play, Montreal’s Brayden Schnur and Peter Polansky advanced.