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BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY SUNCORP

January 1, 2017

Eugenie Bouchard

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

S. ROGERS/E. Bouchard

6-2, 2-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. We have the audio down in the press room, so I'm not quite sure who called for the 10-minute break at the end of the second set. Was it you or your opponent?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I definitely asked for it. I don't know if my opponent did, as well, or not. But I did. Maybe I shouldn't have. (Smiling.)

Q. Your view of the conditions? It was shady, but it was very hot, wasn't it?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: It was, yeah. Luckily we do have that shade, but it actually makes it a bit more humid for us on the court.

But, you know, very hot and humid, which is what to expect. But, yeah, I think it was tough. It's tough for everyone out there.

Q. How do you describe -- obviously disappointing, the first match. Do you take something out of it and make you more determined for the next week?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: For sure I always take losses, you know, as motivation for the next tournament, which usually is the week right after. So, you know, as a tennis player, I'm lucky in that sense. I always get a chance.

But I definitely feel kind of rusty, out of it. I haven't played in a match in a while. I haven't won a match in a while. All those thoughts kind of go into your head a little bit when you're on the court.

Q. In that second set, what do you think you did well in terms of the adjustments? It seemed like it was starting to click for a little while there.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, I think I was kind of pumping myself up a little bit more, having more energy. When I'm playing like that, it actually helps my game more. And I think in the middle of the third set I really fell flat, and I didn't have any more energy. So it's important for me to try to keep that up the whole match.

Q. When you talk to Thomas about even before this match and before the season started, talking about the work that you guys have put in, what's kind of the head space right now as the season starts?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Well, for me, I felt definitely not, you know, completely ready coming here. I felt I wanted maybe a bit more time before the season started, but, you know, everything always comes by so quick.

So we were kind of coming in maybe knowing that a little bit, but, you know, it's still time to go, and sometimes it's also good for you to kind of just put yourself out there, throw yourself to the wolves and see what happens, and improve that way, learn that way instead of just another training week. So that was the choice. That was why we chose to come here.

But, yeah, there is just lots of work to be done. And, yeah, it's kind of getting used to playing a tennis match again, in a way. I know everyone feels like that at the beginning of the season, but the lack of matches I have played after the US Open makes it more -- I just feel it more for my situation.

Q. Did you feel that the break robbed you of your momentum, or did you come back out after the break not as refreshed as you would?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I always find those breaks kind of weird. I did ask for it and I did want it, just to take a bit more time to try to cool down. I thought it was the smarter move.

But it's always weird kind of sitting in the locker room for like five minutes and then going back out. I mean, I think I was right there in the first game, so I don't think that had any effect, but -- yeah, I mean, I don't think it had an effect. I think it was just better for both of us to kind of cool down a bit.

Q. Do you think about, going forward, when you're in extreme conditions, do you think about preparation for Melbourne and what a hot game can do to you, or in the heat of the moment, are you just thinking about the point you're in or the match you're in?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Well, in the match, I'm just thinking about that match, of course. But in the offseason we have been talking about Australia, of course. You know, that's the whole point of it, to get ready for this summer.

I felt like I was okay with the heat today. I wasn't dying or anything. Since I have been here, the practice courts are kind of outdoors. It's actually been tougher in practice, and I felt like I was surviving.

So I was pleasantly surprised with that in terms of physical. So it's just the mental aspect of getting back to playing matches and all that sort of stuff.

Q. You said before you preferred to throw yourself to the wolves rather than just take a training week. Talk about the weeks before Melbourne.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: For sure, basically this week will be a training week now, so definitely going to play Sydney.

Q. Talking about the rustiness and stuff, going back to the last season, what was the reason for kind of the shutdown? Was it injury related or just needed to take some time? Can you talk through the end of the season for you.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: It was both mental and physical, from after Wimbledon to after US Open, Quebec City, I played, like, seven, eight tournaments in a row. And even though I wasn't going far in each one, I was still, the mentality of, you know, going from tournament to tournament and always that stress of a tournament week after week after week.

Especially after the Quebec City tournament, obviously which is at home and a lot more emotional and really tough to play in, I just -- I felt so burnt out. I didn't even want to play the rest of the season.

And going to that indoor surface, as well, I had a little bit of physical issues with shin splints. So with that, I decided to not go to Asia. I had commitments to play in Europe. I decided to try to end the year, like, let's give it one last push type of thing.

But really, I'd want to plan maybe my schedule better. The thought process was because I was kind of losing earlier in tournaments, go try and play another one, go try and play another one, you always have that hope at least to plan to go play a match instead of practice, but I think after a point it actually becomes detrimental.

Definitely going to be smarter with scheduling this year. We also had the Olympics, which is also very taxing physically, emotionally. A lot of things, obviously that's how it happens. It's a perfect storm of events, but, yeah, I definitely took a longer break at the end of this year than usual, and I really needed it, but I feel like it helped because I'm super motivated. I just need to get back into it.

Q. Did you have a standard offseason, like preseason in terms of like is it the same length as years before, or was it longer because you were off longer?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I had a normal preseason training. I just, before that, had taken more time off than usual.

In that sense, I have done a normal amount of training. I feel like I want to do more because I did take a couple extra weeks for my kind of mental/physical burnout that I felt last year.

So, yeah, that's where I'm at right now, but not looking back anymore, looking forward. Just trying to get back into my competitive mode.

Q. I know at the Australian in other years there has been, when there is extreme heat, there has been ice packs for the players, ice towels, whatever. What was available here?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: What was available here for us? Everything that is normally available every week, ice towels on court, which I think we were both using today, and we had the ice baths in the locker room. So everything is there.

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