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WIMBLEDONJune 24, 2014Eugenie BouchardLONDON, ENGLAND E. BOUCHARD/D. Hantuchova THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You had indicated earlier this week you knew it was going to be a challenging match because of her experience and her skill on grass. Was she as you expected her to be? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, I expected a tough match, and it was a tough one. I definitely feel like I didn't play my best most of the match, but competed when it counted, raised my level at some big points, at 5‑All in both sets, I played a bit better. I'm proud of that. Q. How did you feel about the way the first set ended? Did you see the ball out? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I thought it was out, yeah. But, you know, you never know with the challenge system. So I was ready for anything. You know, even if it was in, no big deal, just go one more point, one point at a time, that type of thing. Q. When you say you didn't play well, what does that mean? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I felt like I was a bit inconsistent. I didn't take the ball as early as I would have liked to. She was definitely trying to be the one in control. I felt myself more on defense more often than I'd like to be. At least I realized this during the match and tried to make, you know, later in the second set make some adjustments. But, you know, it's important for me to kind of start the match that way. The first match of a tournament, especially a Grand Slam, is always a bit nervy. I think there was a bit of nervous tennis out there. Q. After Paris you said that grass is probably your favorite surface. Coming into the tournament, you didn't have a lot of matches under your belt. How do you feel you are prepared for a Grand Slam on grass? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, I played one match, but I got a lot of practice in. I had a few good practice weeks on grass. So I've been feeling good with my game. I feel like, you know, getting better every day. So that's the most important thing. Grass is such a short season, so I'm going to try to make the most of it in every single match. It's definitely tough to adjust. But I feel like, you know, I've adjusted pretty well. Q. You've drawn your share of attention in the buildup to this tournament for good reasons. Do you feel pressure at this point? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I do. I feel more eyes on me, for sure, and expectation to win more matches. Being higher ranked than most opponents most of the time, there's that expectation to win. I really try not to focus on it. There's so much that's said around me, I try to ignore most of it and focus on my game. That's the most important thing. Try to play as well as I can, try to improve. So hopefully my next match I'll try to improve from this one. I'm proud of the way I fought. Tough opponent in the first round. It was a really tough match. Q. Was the crowd more subdued than you would have expected? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Well, it's Wimbledon. Everyone is really classy here. That's what we expect at Wimbledon. It's nice. Q. The reason I ask is you didn't appear to have many of the little toys thrown on at the end. Did you have any today? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I got some actually after my practice this morning. That was pretty motivating. I got Cinderella as well. I got a person. I like to think that's me. Someone gave me ‑‑ because I'm a princess. Yeah, I saw a few flags, single members of Genie Army. But it's Wimbledon, so we're a little bit more subdued here. It's the tradition. I like that. Q. Would you like it to build through the week? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Of course. Hopefully every match it builds. But any support I get I appreciate. But besides that, I'm zoned in on the court. I really don't notice much around me. Only after do I notice some people in the crowd and things like that. Really during the match I'm really just focused on the court. Q. Do you remember the last time you played on that court? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yes. Walking out was really special. I had flashbacks from my junior final two years ago. Obviously when the match started, I forgot about that and focused on the match. But walking out was really cool. Q. What do you know about Espinosa? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I didn't even know who I played actually. I played her once last year on clay. That's a bit irrelevant probably. She's feisty on the court and will fight a lot. But I'll fight too, so it will just be a battle. I'll look to cut the ball off a little bit more in my matches and go for it a little bit more. Q. I'm sure you'll tell me you're just focusing on one game at a time, but in the back of your mind, are you aware you're moving towards that fourth‑round meeting with Serena Williams? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: It's really not on my mind at all. It's cliché to say, but it's important to focus on one match at a time. If I don't win my second round, I'm not going to be in the fourth round. To me there's zero point in looking ahead to past the next match. That's when I feel I'm the most focused, so I really don't worry about it. Q. What is the simple difference between the kind of tennis you played, how you thought about it on clay a couple weeks ago, and the tennis you're playing now on grass? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: You know, even on clay I try to be aggressive. I think I can move forward in the court even more than I did today, so that's the goal on grass a little bit more. Probably step in a bit more on the returns, as well. So those two things I could have done better and help me on grass more, I think. Regardless of the surface, they're different of course, but at the end of the day it's still about me playing my game, you know, hitting my shots and trying to be as good as I can. The surface is different, but at the end of the day it's still about me and my opponent. Q. Who did you have the best practice session with before the tournament? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I think Vika was probably the best one. She brings intensity to the practice. I do as well. So it was good. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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