TENNIS WTA MONTREAL – 5th of August 2014. S. Rogers d. E. Bouchard 6-0, 3-6, 6-0. An interview with Eugenie Bouchard
Q. Your first match since Wimbledon. Obviously that probably played a little part in it. Spraying some shots, a couple double faults. Was it nerves or adrenaline?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I think I was feeling the pressure a bit on the court. I felt a little, you know, match rusty kind of.
But I knew this coming into the match, so I can’t use that as excuses. I knew it would be kind of a difficult situation.
But I’m happy I was able to at least prove to myself that I could turn things around and not let the match run away completely. That’s a positive from the match.
Q. How strange were the conditions, late start, no power, no scoreboard? Was it difficult to focus?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I mean, it was a little bit distracting because, you know, to not hear the umpire as loud as you normally could, you know, I didn’t hear him sometimes. We had no scoreboard or anything. Of course, it’s the same for both players. But, you know, just doesn’t help the situation. It was just kind of a series of unfortunate events a little bit.
Q. Sometimes when you have a big break, you practice some things to try to improve your game. Did you practice some things after Wimbledon that you were hoping to execute?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: After Wimbledon I took two weeks off, so I really in practice wanted to first of all get back to my level, try to improve after that.
I feel like I wanted to work on a little bit of everything, consistency, you know, trying to take the ball early, a few things like that that I do well, but I wanted to keep improving those things.
I just felt a little, yeah, not great on the court. But it’s a situation where I’ll learn a lot, not so much about the tennis, but everything else but the tennis.
Q. The way you were able to turn it around in the second set, finish it off, standing ovation, at that point do you say, Now I’m here and I can win this thing?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Well, I was trying not to think ahead too much after the second. But, you know, I didn’t really start off strong in the third, which probably would have been an important thing to do. Felt a little bit like the first set again. It was a little up and down, which definitely is not how I want to play. I definitely want to be a lot more solid than that.
Q. A career is full of highs and lows. Is this the biggest disappointment of your career?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I don’t think so. It’s just a match. I feel like I’ve been playing really well this whole year. So it’s normal to have a few ups and downs. I’m going to learn a lot, but still be happy about life.
Q. As disappointing as this may be, being your home tournament, it’s still one match in preparation to the US Open. How confident are you with your plan to get to New York in top shape? Does this change anything in what you’re planning to do?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I don’t know. You know, I think the plan is to play next week. I’m going to do that, hopefully get more matches in. I’ll definitely try to prepare for the US Open. It’s the big one. But I still want to do well at every tournament I play.
But, you know, it’s good maybe that this happens earlier than the slam, so I’ll be able to learn from it and kind of adjust going into the US Open.
Q. I’m wondering also, given the off court things that have changed in the last year, what effect has that had on your ability to focus on training and playing?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I’ve definitely noticed a change in my life a little bit since the beginning of the year, even more so since Wimbledon. It’s just something I’m going to have to get used to, especially coming to Montréal is definitely a little crazier than any other tournament.
But I felt like I was dealing with things well. But I still have that sense of the pressure and things like that. It’s a good position to be in. It’s one I want to be in. But I’ll just have to deal with it better.
Q. Managing that pressure and the expectations, is that what you need to focus on going into the US Open, for you to make the next step and maybe win a Grand Slam?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I think so, yeah. I think as you get a bit more successful you’re going to have to deal with more things as you go up. As I said, it’s where I want to be.
It’s just about kind of getting used to it and focusing on the tennis and remembering that’s the number one priority.
Q. Can you compare the stress of playing a Wimbledon final and playing here in front of your home crowd.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: It’s similar, yes. Wimbledon was a very important moment for me. Here it was a second round, but I knew there were many expectations from many people here.
Also, becoming a top 10 player and reaching the final in Wimbledon played a part in the extra pressure I felt here.
Q. When you walked onto the court you had a long ovation from the crowd. Although you played poorly, the crowd was still with you. Can you talk about what you felt from the crowd.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I was really surprised because I played that first set very badly, and still the crowd was behind me. They stayed behind me for the whole match. It was something very good to feel.
