Generally Genie

[Smasher08]

She won her first round match last night in Toronto.

More generally, she looks to be a rising star on the women's tour and a great boost for Canadian tennis.

Eugenie Bouchard confidently stepped on Centre Court Tuesday night and, 79 minutes later, waved to the crowd after winning her opening Rogers Cup match in straight sets. It was easy to forget that she’s just 19 and in her first full season as a pro.

With powerful shots and an aggressive game, Bouchard beat Russian Alisa Kleybanova, 6-3, 6-1, a veteran player just coming back to the tour after a long illness.

But the Montreal teen beneath the mantle of the next great hope of Canadian women’s tennis was more visible — though only slightly — afterwards when she was asked about her next match here.

She’ll face Petra Kvitova, the defending Rogers Cup champion and currently ranked seventh in the world.

“Time to take the defending champ down,” Bouchard said, laughing.

“Obviously, she’s a great player, she’s won a Slam, but I’m just really excited. I’m going to play at home on Centre Court in front of the crowd, which is always so fun for me. I’ll try my best and we’ll see what happens.”

All kidding aside, Bouchard knows exactly how far she has come and how far she still has to go.

“I still need a wild card to get into this tournament so every match for me is really tough,” said the 62nd-ranked Bouchard.

The hype around Bouchard has grown exponentially since she won the junior singles title at Wimbledon in 2012 and made it to the third round as a pro this year at the All England Club after upsetting No. 12 Ana Ivanovic in the second.

She’s just what Canadian tennis fans have been waiting for: a compelling young player with the kind of game that could take her to the top of the sport and, seemingly, the personality to survive the pressures of the women’s tour.

No one really knew what to expect from Kleybanova before she took to the court Tuesday. This was her first major match since 2011, when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Before that, the 23-year-old Russian was ranked 20th, with two WTA titles to her name.

Early in the first set there were more service breaks than holds but Bouchard got past it while Kleybanova struggled throughout with her serve.

“I got broken a few times and just decided to go for it and play aggressive,” Bouchard said. “(Kleybanova) hits big shots but I was still able to control the point.”

Aggressive play and deep, heavy shots are qualities Bouchard has already become known for in her short pro career. Now she’s focusing on developing a bigger serve and improving her mental competitiveness in matches.

At the 2012 Rogers Cup, Bouchard made it to the second round before falling to Li Na, who went on to play in the final.

Earlier Tuesday, two other Canadian women took to the court having, against all odds, drawn each other.

Toronto’s Sharon Fichman won a long, difficult match 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 over Fed Cup teammate Stephanie Dubois of Laval, Que.

“It was definitely a tough one but I’m happy to get through it,” Fichman said. “I’m now in the top 100 after this week, which is fun. But that’s not my ultimate goal.”

The 22-year-old wants to get a lot closer to the stars she first saw here at Rogers Cup when her father brought her as a 6-year-old with big tennis dreams.

“I remember watching, you know, Serena and Venus and Hingis and Seles and all my idols, my heroes, and I was just in awe,” she said. “I had my plan to be a tennis player.”

Fichman now faces 14th-ranked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the second round.

Do you agree/disagree that she's a top-10 talent?

 

[xan]

everyone is a top 10 talent in wta.

 

[FreeBird]

She is next sharapova in terms of publicity and glamour of Women tennis.

 

[Nostradamus]

She is next sharapova in terms of publicity and glamour of Women tennis.

I don't think she has the feminine body of Sharapova. Maria was easy to shoot as glamour model because her body looks like model body as well as her face. Genie is very pretty but just does not have that type of face or body. She is more of nice home next door cute girl type.

 

[Chico]

She has some other talents beside top 10 potential.

 

[Smasher08]

I don't think she has the feminine body of Sharapova. Maria was easy to shoot as glamour model because her body looks like model body as well as her face. Genie is very pretty but just does not have that type of face or body. She is more of nice home next door cute girl type.

I have to disagree.

http://www.**************.org/Editor/Img/Eugenie-Bouchard-img12138_668.jpg

 

[Chico]

I have to disagree.

http://www.**************.org/Editor/Img/Eugenie-Bouchard-img12138_668.jpg

Damn I should have copyrighted this picture. After I posted it several weeks ago it has been copied many times in many threads.

 

[FreeBird]

I have to disagree.

http://www.**************.org/Editor/Img/Eugenie-Bouchard-img12138_668.jpg

Smasher, seems like you are in love.

 

[v-verb]

Smasher, seems like you are in love.

Who wouldn't be? She's gorgeous, apparently level headed and a really good tennis player!

 

[Smasher08]

 

[Warmaster]

Definitely has top 10 potential. I'm a fan!

 

[Smasher08]

Decent performance last night, she knows what to work on. A better draw and she might have gone deeper.

 

[TheRed]

I don't think she has the feminine body of Sharapova. Maria was easy to shoot as glamour model because her body looks like model body as well as her face. Genie is very pretty but just does not have that type of face or body. She is more of nice home next door cute girl type.

Sharapova is not that good looking. She certainly isn't ugly but really isn't amazing. If you've been to Russia/eastern europe, Sharapova would be average. She's got huge shoulders and and a really long torso, not exactly glamour model. I suppose she's attractive FOR AN ATHLETE, but that's about it.

 

[FrontHeadlock]

Sharapova is not that good looking. She certainly isn't ugly but really isn't amazing. If you've been to Russia/eastern europe, Sharapova would be average. She's got huge shoulders and and a really long torso, not exactly glamour model. I suppose she's attractive FOR AN ATHLETE, but that's about it.

Agreed 100%.

There are probably at least 10 girls better looking on tour in the top 100, let alone in the general population.

 

[easywin]

Definitely top10 potential - but sadly nothing more i guess...

Her strokes look good and she has a good overall game but when i watched her play Kvitova you could see she was lacking serious power.

Her game reminds me of Kerber, just a bit more aggresive.