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ROGERS CUP

August 11, 2015

Eugenie Bouchard

TORONTO, ONTARIO

B. BENCIC/E. Bouchard
6‑0, 5‑7, 6‑2

Q. Can you start by giving us an assessment of the match tonight and in particular how you felt towards your own performance out there?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah. I feel like I started out a little bit rusty in a sense. Haven't had a lot of Match Play recently, but I was able to raise my game, and I think it was pretty competitive out there after that first set.
So I'm pleased with my performance.

Q. Does it feel then in some ways like a step forward despite‑‑
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: It's for sure a step in the right direction.

Q. Any lingering feelings from that abdominal injury or would you say that you felt physically fit 100 percent out there?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I played the whole match pain free, so that's also‑‑ that was one of the goals and the most important one maybe. So I'm really happy about that as well.

Q. Were you a little worried about how the body would respond in your first match since Wimbledon?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I wasn't worried. I have done a lot of training in recent weeks and it's something I didn't want to think about while I was on the court. But I'm happy with the way my body responded. You know, I felt okay out there physically, and I just feel like I need more matches to get into it.

Q. Obviously it was like a fun weekend for you. I think I saw you did a bit of air hockey and you got involved. Just want to get your overall vibe about being here in Toronto.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: It's special to be in Toronto. It's unfortunate I only play here once every two years, but you know, I always get a warm welcome, and I've been able to interact with fans. The Toronto Genie Army. All my sponsors who are here, and you know, just the fans around the tournament, and it's always been really nice.

Q. And of course, upcoming US Open. Just wanted to find out what's next for Genie.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Next for me is Cincinnati. Using these next couple weeks as preparation ultimately for the US Open, but I'm going to go into each week with some goals to just try to perform well and play good tennis and kind of build on at least this match today and try to keep building with hopefully lots of matches in the next couple of weeks.

Q. Just wondering how you would compare your loss last year in Montreal to the match tonight?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I think the losses are completely different. I was in a completely different situation last year compared to this year. So you know, I feel like I handled myself really well tonight, and you know, better than I did last year coming into that Montreal tournament. So I'm proud of that. And you know, I was fighting on every single point up until the end, and at the end of the day that's all I can ask for.

Q. Like from the first set tonight to the second set it was like two different people out there. What did you feel‑‑ how did the second set feel compared to the first set? What was different?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: During the first set I‑‑ I stayed pretty calm, which I think helped me to kind of regroup in the second. I didn't freak out, even though I lost 6‑0, and I just thought to myself that I was shaking off the rust a little bit, and I really didn't panic. And I think that was the key to at least give myself a chance to raise my game. And you know, I just kept focusing on simple things, you know, tactical things, and it started working and I started feeling a little more like myself.

Q. As you look forward and having now put the last six months behind you, how do you look at the rest of this year? I mean goal wise or anything? What are your expectations for the rest of the season?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I'm looking forward to the rest of the year as a chance to end the year on a better note than I started. I feel like, you know, I have some tournaments left. To me it still seems like there's a lot left, but it'll probably go quicker than I expect. But I just want to get on the court. I'm so eager to play tournaments, play matches and feel good. My goals are to be healthy, to perform well during the matches, and that's really it. You know, I don't have any expectations besides that.

Q. What kind of mental adjustment have you had to make kind of as the defeats and the injuries have kind of piled up and can you talk about how you've kind of talked yourself through it?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I've had to remain positive for sure. It's easy to let yourself get negative when you lose a couple of matches in a row or you know your body's not feeling great. So it's definitely been a tough road. And I feel like I'm, you know, at least not going downwards anymore. I'm trying to go on the right path. I feel like I can be close to performing well on the court, and it's just been a long, patient kind of battle, and I feel like I'm close to turning it around.

Q. Has anyone told you anything or said anything which you've been able to use in a positive way?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I've had the support of my inner team, the close people around me. Everyone, you know, believes in me so much, and you know, remind me that, you know, I do have the skill, the talent, the‑‑ you know, everything I need, and it's just about, you know, putting in the hard work, putting it all together and it'll eventually come.

Q. And can you just talk a little bit about what happened with Sam and why you felt it may be wasn't working as well anymore?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: It definitely wasn't working. There were some big problems, and I just felt like I, you know, had to make a change. I think that was necessary for me.

Q. The fellow that you were working with here this week in Toronto, Marco, is he going to be accompanying you for the rest of the hard court swing?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: It's definitely not permanent right now. I haven't made that decision yet. But for the time being he is going to be with me, yes.

Q. And how did that sort of new or temporary coaching relationship come about?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: He's a coach I've worked with in the past, and so he's known me for at least three years or so. So you know, just happened to fall together after Wimbledon, and you know, I'm grateful that he's been able to help me right away when I needed it.

Q. So just to clarify, was it just after Wimbledon, then, that you and Sam parted ways?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: That's correct, yeah.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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