Bouchard still a draw despite extended slump
She may have slid way down the world rankings, but Eugenie Bouchard is still No. 1 in the hearts of Canadian tennis fans and in many ways she’s still the face of the Rogers Cup.
The Montreal native took centre stage Monday at the biggest WTA tournament this country has to offer even though she only got into the event as a wild card.
Canada’s top-ranked player was trod out in front of the media, solo style, at the Aviva Centre, while the top eight players in the world were simply involved in media scrums.
Not long afterward, the 23-yearold talent, whose rise has for a while now been sidetracked, was introduced to the crowd over the PA system of the tennis centre, just before seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams was set to play her first match of the tournament.
Yes, Bouchard is still relevant to Canadians and to this tournament, but she might not be relevant much beyond that, having fallen all the way down to No. 70 in the world after having climbed as high as No. 5.
But those lofty heights seem to be fading memories now as the exhilarating results from 2014 — appearances in the Wimbledon final and Australian and French Open semifinals — have been replaced by disappointment.
Sure, there have been some positives this season, such as beating Maria Sharapova in Madrid, but there have been far too many lows. Some injuries, an early exit at Wimbledon and, back in April, playing in a lower-level International Tennis Federation tournament.
“It was definitely a humbling experience,” Bouchard said Monday of the ITF event, which was her decision to play in as she tried to hit the reset button.
Maybe it’s too much of an interest in social media and too much of an emphasis on having fun, but whatever the reason, the play of Bouchard has been, to be polite, erratic.
Will that change here? You know she would love for it to happen and Canadian fans would love it, too.
“I would love to play great in Canada because I don’t get to play here often and I do feel my country’s support when I am playing around the world. So I would love nothing more than to play well for them. I really want to go out and go for it, not hold back or let nerves or pressure dictate the way I play. I want to kind of play free,” said Bouchard, who has been inspired by some recent training sessions with Andre Agassi.
“Andre told me that tennis is simple and people complicate it.”
Bouchard’s first test at this tournament — 21-year-old Croatian Donna Vekic, who at No. 51 is above the Canadian in the rankings — will likely be more complicated than simple.
“She’s a good player, I watched her match at Wimbledon,” Bouchard said of Vekic. “I’ve got to be ready for her being pretty aggressive with her shots.”
The winner of that matchup will be rewarded by facing No. 3 Angelique Kerber of Germany, the former No. 1 player in the world.
So while Bouchard will be trying to stop her descent, Williams was looking to continue her rise.
The 37-year-old has had a renaissance this season reaching both the Wimbledon and Australian Open finals and has climbed all the way back to No. 9 in the world.
But as the rain came down, the American veteran’s match against No. 38 Irina-Camelia Begu was suspended with Williams up 2-1 in the third set. It was unclear if the pair would be able to continue or if Montreal’s Francoise Abanda would get started in her match against Lucie Safarova.