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MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 9, 2017

Eugenie Bouchard

Madrid, Spain

E. BOUCHARD/M. Sharapova

7-5, 2-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. From our side, this looked like a rollercoaster. How would you describe it?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: It was a very tough match, not only physically and tennis-wise, but also mentally and emotionally.

Each point was a battle from the first point. It was really a fight. I'm just proud that I came out stronger in the end and held it together in the third set.

Q. Compared to the first four matches you played against Maria, did you feel going into this one that you felt the most maybe free or that there was less to lose because there's been a lot of stakes in the other ones? What was your mentality going into this match?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I definitely had some extra motivation going into today. Obviously I had never beaten her before. Also given the circumstances...

I was actually quite inspired before the match because I had a lot of players coming up to me privately wishing me good luck, players I don't normally speak to, getting a lot of texts from people in the tennis world that were just rooting for me.

So I wanted to do it for myself, but also all these people. I really felt support.

Q. I was wondering, was there a sense on your part that you kind of talked the talk, backed it up by walking the walk?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: It definitely helps when you can back it up (smiling).

Obviously, there was a lot going on besides tennis in this match, as well. As soon as I stepped on the court, I really just wanted to make it about tennis. We both did that. We just battled our hearts out, I think.

At the end of the day, I think that's the most important. You know, hopefully people enjoyed it, because that's the point of this, right? At the end of the day we're entertainment. I definitely enjoyed it, although I'll be a little sore tomorrow.

Q. Do you still believe that she don't have to compete?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I still have the same opinion as I had when I got asked that question before, so...

Q. Does this feel like, your level, one of the best matches you've played since - you tell us, I guess?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I think it definitely has to be. At points in the match, I definitely did not feel the rhythm. You mentioned rollercoaster. There was a little bit of up and down in the match, for sure. I had moments where I was a bit frustrated. I thought I could play better.

But overall, you know, with the whole mental aspect, just fighting and playing almost a three-hour match, the physical battles, I mean, she's playing really well right now. Everything together, for sure, it's one of my more prouder matches in the past couple years.

Q. Could you tell us a bit more about players you didn't know coming up to you. What kind of things were they saying?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I didn't say players that I don't know. I know every player.

Q. Players you don't normally converse with.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah. It's just some girls in the locker room are coming up to me and really wishing me good luck before matches, which doesn't normally happen to me. Players I don't normally speak to is more what I said.

It showed me that most people have my opinion, and they were just maybe scared to speak out. But privately, you know, I've gotten a lot of support, so... I was inspired and motivated to play.

Q. The other day you were talking about some of the soul searching, the difficulties of the past months that you had, that you went through. Is it for you sometimes weird how things in terms of having a match like that, coming out on top of a match like that, can just come within one week or maybe one match?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Well, for me it hasn't been sudden because I had a couple of tough months, so it was more than just a little bit.

I was working hard that whole time, just waiting for it to come. Okay, it didn't happen this week, it will happen next week. Okay, it didn't happen this week again, it will happen next week.

That's the journey of a tennis player. It's so tough. But we have the amazing opportunity to have a chance every single week pretty much.

So I just tried to keep my head up, finally saw a little bit of results from the hard work I put in coming in to play this week. I just want to build on it.

Q. Could you tell us what actually Maria said at the net at the end? Also, did you feel that her performance was that of a player coming back from 15 months?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: She said, Well played. I think she's been playing really well in her so-called comeback, if you want to call it that. You know, she was playing well today. It was tough.

Q. Your next match is against Kerber. How do you feel you're going to recover? In general, sometimes there are letdowns after huge matches. What do you want to do to avoid that?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, that's a very valid point. I want to maybe rest my brain a little bit, not think about it too much for tomorrow. I have the day off, which is good.

I want to go for it. I'm the underdog, by far. It's nice to have this position these past couple years. So I want to at least take advantage of that, just go for it, play good tennis, build on this, and enjoy it, kind of just show what I can do.

Yeah, just go for it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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