Bouchard to let genie out of bottle
Canadian star looking forward to getting career back on track, starting in Auckland, after struggling in 2018
Eugenie Bouchard admits she has struggled with her motivation for tennis over the last two years, as she has tried to get her career back on track.
The former Wimbledon finalist arrived in this country on Christmas Day, ahead of the 2019 ASB Classic, but the circumstances are quite different from her only previous visit five years ago.
Back then she was a highly-touted junior on the rise but still a virtual unknown, and ranked No 147. It was her first full season as a professional, and although she lost in the first round in Auckland as a wildcard, the subsequent rise was swift.
Bouchard was ranked 32 by the end of that year, then hit the headlines the following January with a stunning run to the last four of the Australian Open. She also made the semifinals at Roland Garros, then reached the Wimbledon final, topping Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep on the way. A few months past her 20th birthday, Bouchard was the hottest player on tour.
She couldn’t maintain those lofty heights — but remained a top 50 player — until a dramatic fall over the last 18 months. The nadir came in June, where she was close to slipping out of the top 200, and found herself grinding through qualifiers, before a recent bounce back.
“I believe that the end of 2018 was a little turning point,” said Bouchard. “Now I’m looking forward. I’m really excited to play. I’m really motivated — which is something I have struggled with in the past . . . motivation.”
“It’s not like I didn’t what to play any more or anything like that, but after having great results and then having not so good results sometimes you are like ‘okay, what’s going on,’ and it’s hard to keep going, when you lose, week after week. I went through a phase when it was definitely tough, but I knew it was still what I wanted to do, so I kept pushing through it.”
Bouchard admits it was a strange feeling to be playing qualifying on empty outside courts at majors, as she endured in 2018.
“In 2013, I won matches in grand slams in the main draw straight away,” said Bouchard. “So I kinda skipped the whole qualifying phase, because I accelerated through the professional rankings so quickly. Maybe I missed some steps and now it is time to re-do all those steps. But I did them, I did my fair share and now I never want to have to qualify for a slam again . . . hopefully.”
If first impressions count, the world No 87 Bouchard looks on track to continue her revival next year. She wowed the crowds at Ellerslie races yesterday, where she was a judge of the fashion in the fields competition and spoke confidently as she did the media rounds. But more importantly, she seems focused. She played an exhibition in Hawaii last week — beating former world No 1 Garbine Muguruza before losing to Elise Mertens (world No 12) in a three-set final. The 24-year-old skipped family Christmas celebrations in Montreal to arrive in Auckland early, for the longest possible preparation time.
“I’m here for work, and I am doing what I want to do,” said the Canadian star. “I think that shows the mental state I am in. Look, it doesn’t guarantee anything, but talk to me in a year and we will see.
“Last year was very tough, very up and down. [But] I got better as the year went on and I ended the year really well.
“I’m very happy with my new coach [and] we have worked hard in the off season. I had a couple of good practice matches last week so I feel like sooner rather than later I’ll get some good results.”