Canadian Sweetheart Eugenie Bouchard May Have to Beat Serena Williams & Maria Sharpaova to Reach Quarter Finals at Wimbledon
Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard may have to climb mountains to proceed at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.
Bouchard, fondly called as "Genie," may face the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at early stages of the tournament. Bouchard ended up being on the same side of the draw with Williams and Sharapova, The Star reported. According to her official profile at Wimbledon, Bouchard's current singles ranking is 12th. She lost in the third round at Wimbledon in 2013. Genie, nevertheless, was the first Canadian to win a junior singles Grand Slam in when she won the 2012 Wimbledon girls' title.
Bouchard has had her share of success in recent times. She reached the Australian and French Open semi-finals. The 20-year-old player was the second Canadian to reach a Grand Slam semi-final when she did it at the 2014 Australian Open. The first Canadian to achieve the feat was Carling Bassett-Seguso who reached the semi-finals at the 1984 U.S. Open.
Bouchard will play against Daniela Hantuchova in the first round. Hantuchova is ranked 35th at the moment. If Bouchard gets past the Slovakian challenge, she's likely to meet Williams in the round of 16. Williams has already won the Wimbledon Championship 5 times. If Bouchard manages to beat Williams anyway, she'll probably meet Sharapova in the quarter-finals. The Russian tennis star, who is current no. 5, was the one who defeated Bouchard at the 2014 French Open in the semis.
Bouchard, meanwhile, practised with former no. 1 Victoria Azarenka on Court 18 on Saturday June 21, National Post reported. She said that she was working on attacking the net more. "I've been practising really well, working on my game on grass - definitely stepping in a bit more, going to the net a bit more," Bouchard said.
Bouchard talked about her first match against Hantuchova who will play at Wimbledon for the 14th time in 2014. "It's a tough match," Bouchard said. "We've never played. She's capable of playing at a high level. You never know with a player like that if she can go up to her previous high level or be where she is now."
Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au