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ROGERS CUP WOMENAugust 6, 2013Eugenie BouchardTORONTO, ONTARIO E. BOUCHARD/A. Kleybanova THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Last year you managed to get her the first round. How different was this year, and how much more of a statement match was this in the sense that you're kind of a known player at this stage of the game? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, well, I mean, I'm always happy to win at home in Canada. You know, I still need a wildcard to get into this tournament, so every match for me is really tough. Obviously Alisa is a great player. She has been very good. I'm sure she will get back to being really good. So I wasn't too sure what to be prepared for, but I felt like I was ready for anything. I was able to play really solid today. I was happy. Q. How different has this experience been for you, the first year fully going through the tour, the ranking coming up so quickly? Where does this experience come into play and playing in front of the home crowd here with that ranking coming up? Just what has this week been like for you in the grand scheme of this season? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, for sure. I have played this whole year just on the pro circuit obviously, so, you know, I feel like I have improved a lot in my game and also mentally. I have played on big stages like center courts of Grand Slams, so obviously playing on center court at home, I'm still nervous before the match and everything, but I know I have experience. I have been in situations like this before, so those past experiences do help me, and I felt like I was a little nervous at the beginning but I was able to calm down and ended up, you know, improving as the match went on. Q. What was maybe more nerve‑wracking, center court here or at Wimbledon? Was that one of the experiences that you drew upon? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: For sure. I mean, obviously Wimbledon is the biggest stage in tennis, so playing center court there was extremely special. But of course I love playing at home in Canada in front of my fans, and I want to show how well I can play, so I was definitely a little bit nervous before this match, which I think is normal. But I was able to get through it. Q. Is there a sense of relief now that this one is over, kind of got it out of the way? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I wouldn't say relief. I'm happy with how the match went. Like I said, I wasn't too sure what to expect, so I'm happy that I was able to handle the situation and, you know, another match under my belt. I've got to regroup and do the same thing tomorrow. Q. Do you train yourself to stay strong mentally throughout your matches, or perhaps do you think you were born with this quality? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I think it's a bit of both. I think you have to be born with some kind of self‑discipline and, you know, a lot of concentration or focus, which I think I was, but also it's always a work in progress. I feel like I can lose my focus sometimes, and, you know, try to pull myself back in. So I think it's something I constantly need to be focused on, and I need to work on it during my matches, yes. Q. You said at the beginning you were a bit nervous, but then you sort of calmed yourself down. Can you talk about how you did that? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah. Well, I feel like ‑‑I mean, we were breaking each other a lot in the beginning of the first set. I think it's been a while since I played a match where we broke each other so much in a row. So, you know, I just kind of relaxed after that. I got broken a few times, and I just decided to go for it and started to play aggressive. That definitely helped me. She hits big shots, but I was still able to control the point, which I did better like the second half of the first and then the second set. Q. Looking ahead to your next match you're facing the defending champ. Can you talk about what you think about that and how you'll prepare for that? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, time to take the defending champ down. (Smiling). Obviously she's a great player. She's won a slam. But, you know, I'm just really excited I will play at home on center court in front of the crowd. It's always so fun for me. I'm going to try my best and we'll see what happens. Q. Does the pressure ever get to you? There is so much hype around you. Your photo is all over the place, but yet you seem pretty relaxed. EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, I am relaxed. It's fun. It's just fun being home where people know you a bit more. But besides that I know I need to stay focused on what I need to do or else I will lose my concentration, so I put pressure on myself and that's really all I think about, my own expectations. Q. After the first set I think you requested to see your coach. Just wondering what the reason was for that. EUGENIE BOUCHARD: She told me to call her out. Well, I mean, we have it. We are able to use it in WTA events, so why not? Even if I win the set I still want to hear what she has to say. I can always do things better and always improve. I just wanted to hear what she had to say, and it actually helped me in the second set. Q. Without maybe going into too many specifics, what were some of the messages she gave you? EUGENIE BOUCHARD: She was telling me to be more aggressive, and I think I did do that in the second set, try to control the point. Even if she was hitting big, I was staying with her, so I could just easily go from defense to offense. I think I did that really well in the second. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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