Wimbledon success boosts Canada
Team Canada benefits from Wimbledon run
There were fans and TV cameras on hand to greet Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard at the airport in Montreal Sunday evening, as she finally returned home after nearly three months in Europe.
Unless you’re the Canadiens or the Alouettes returning in triumph, or an Olympic athlete returning with a gold medal, this was not a normal situation.
The 20-year-old from Westmount, Que. didn’t even return home as the new Wimbledon women’s champion. Imagine if she had.
Not winning Wimbledon this year was probably the best thing that could have happened to her.
It’s not because Bouchard isn’t perfectly capable of handling all that would come, even if she said before the fact that she had no inkling of what that might entail.
But it’s already been a long year of firsts, a lot of tennis, and nearly half the tennis season is still to come.
Even without the big title, Tennis Canada has a jackpot on its hands after the great Canadian performances at Wimbledon, and Bouchard is just a piece of it, albeit the biggest piece.
With her final, Milos Raonic’s singles semifinal and the unexpected win by Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil and American partner Jack Sock in the men’s doubles, there is a wave of interest to ride with the Rogers Cup just a month away.
Never has Tennis Canada had richer material to work with.
New president Kelly Murumets, who came on board in March, flew to London late last week and did television interviews. She got plenty of camera time cheering in the stands. The success of the three young players, all appealing in their own way and from different parts of the country, should make her job a whole lot easier.
One reason Bouchard has been able to put together such a successful run to No. 7 in the world is because overall, she has managed to stay pretty healthy. But the body and mind can only keep going so long before something gives.
“For now, yeah, just not going to think about a racquet for a few days at least. Maybe a week. We’ll see how it goes,” Bouchard said after the 6-3 and 6-0 loss to Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova in Saturday’s final. “I’m just excited to spend a little time off with my family back home. I’m going to spend a lot of time on my couch. That’s the first goal.”
To give you an idea of what a surreal bubble she has been in, she was asked Friday if her sisters would be there for the women’s final and she said they wouldn’t. Meanwhile, they had already landed in London after an overnight flight. When she spoke to the media after the final, she hadn’t even seen them.
“I think they’re here. I hope they’ve enjoyed their Wimbledon,” she said.
Even before she made three straight Grand Slam semifinals, Bouchard still had the WTA tour determined to sell her at its new golden girl. Had she won Wimbledon on top of all that, the demands from media, existing sponsors — and potential new, lucrative sponsors — would have been through the roof. And when opportunity knocks, it’s difficult to say no even with the very best of intentions for the long-term health of the athlete.
As it is, Bouchard won’t get a long break.
She will have a training block in Florida with coach Nick Saviano to prepare for the summer hardcourt season, which includes the Rogers Cup and culminates with the final Grand Slam of the season in New York at the U.S. Open.
It’s a gruelling stretch; the weather is typically hot, and the hard courts, after these months on the more forgiving red clay and grass, are pretty tough on the body.
As well, Montreal hosts the women’s tournament in the Rogers Cup this year. And for the first time since, well, since only Canadians were in the draw, a hometown heroine has a serious shot to win it.
Despite the presence of the best players on the planet, Bouchard will be the star. Her every match will be the marquee match. She will have huge media responsibilities. Her new deal with Coke and Diet Coke in Quebec will be kicking in.
So having a little breather from it all is the silver lining in what was a disappointing loss.