Bouchard offers terse interview after qualifying match at Wimbledon
LONDON — Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard generated plenty of headlines Tuesday, and it wasn’t for her first-round victory in the qualifying 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 tennis 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 the video clip 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 that the “icy post-match interview raises eyebrows.”
Another London-based outlet, Metro News, described the interaction as “frosty.”
In the clip, which aired live on Eurosport 2, the interviewer started by congratulating Bouchard on the win and asking for her assessment of the victory.
“Thank you, yeah, it was pretty solid,” Bouchard replied.
A question about whether she was pleased with her start of the match garnered a brief reply.
“Really happy. It’s important on grass to start well,” she said.
An answer about coach Robert Lansdorp was just as short.
“He’s been really helpful. I think he’s a good coach,” Bouchard said.
The toughest question was saved for last. The interviewer noted that Wimbledon was obviously a special place for Bouchard, since she had played for a championship in the past.
“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 quickly nodded and walked off the side court.
“Well, you probably noticed as she walked over, she was not keen to do the interview,” the host broadcaster said.
Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., has been forced to enter qualifying draws or use wild-card entries at some tournaments this season due to her poor ranking. She has yet to beat a top-75 opponent this season.
She will face world No. 219 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the next round. A third-round qualification victory would get Bouchard a spot in the main draw of the Grand Slam event, set to begin Monday.
Organizers were expected to unveil the singles draws Friday.