“It's not like a surprise to me. I expect good results like this... I still have another match, so it's not a full celebration yet.”
These were words uttered by Eugenie Bouchard less than a year ago after she progressed to the Wimbledon final, her first appearance in a Grand Slam title match.
Twelve months on, and the Canadian would simply love a single match win to celebrate, let alone a major final. For the losses are coming thick and fast.
The latest was a 7-6(3), 6-4 defeat to unheralded Chinese player Ying-Ying Duan, who until Tuesday had never beaten a player ranked inside the top 50. It was Bouchard’s 12th loss in her past 14 matches and a result that will send her tumbling outside the world’s top 20.
Last year, it was all so much easier. Bouchard was the darling of Wimbledon, her cool, composed demeanour, attacking tennis and poster-girl looks captivating the British crowds and boosting her already burgeoning fanbase. The draw opened up magnificently for her and she capitalised, overwhelming six opponents in straight sets with her hyper-aggressive, first-strike approach from the baseline.
A 55-minute, 6-3, 6-0 loss to Petra Kvitova in the final seemed something of an aside; after all, it was her first major final and she was just 20 years of age. Bigger successes seemed inevitable.
Yet after rounding out a sparkling 2014 with a run to the Wuhan final and by qualifying for the elite eight-player WTA Finals in Singapore, a sophomore slump has ensued. Barring her quarter-final finish at Melbourne Park, she has won consecutive matches just once in 2015, and endured a six-match losing streak from March to May before snapping it in Rome.
“A couple months ago when I had a loss in Indian Wells or Miami, I didn't feel like it was the end of the world, but to some people it was. We're closer to the end of the world now,” she said with a wan smile.
“I've just learned about this world I'm in, being an athlete, the struggles. I think everyone goes through them. So I think I'm not alone in this situation.”
Ying-Ying Duan
Not helping matters on Tuesday against Duan was the residual effects of an abdominal tear which forced her out of Eastbourne; while showing no apparent signs of the injury she did admit that it contributed to rust in her game.
If I stick with it, keep going, have the success I know I can have, I think it will be that much sweeter
“Probably wouldn't have been smart to play here, but I couldn't pass on Wimbledon. So I did kind of minimal preparation to save myself for the match,” she said.
“I mean, I was taped. Felt okay. I was trying not to think about it. But I just haven't practiced that much. So I felt my timing was very off.”
Indeed, she looked awry all match. Whereas last year she seemed to have the time to camp on the baseline and set up for her laser-like shots, on Tuesday she was frequently caught late, snatching at her groundstrokes and often being forced back in the court by a player often described as the Chinese version of Lindsay Davenport.
Although she started brightly for a 2-0 lead, Bouchard watched as Duan reeled off four straight games and scored two set points in the 10th game. She saved those, and after double-faulting in the 12th game to hand Duan a third set point, saved that as well. In the tie-break that followed, Bouchard’s serve broke down again and she fell behind 3-0. This time, the qualifier would not be denied; she built a 6-3 lead in the breaker thanks to forcing play and pocketed the set when Bouchard sent a backhand long.
The momentum swings of set one were absent in the second, which followed serve. That was until the ninth game, when a backhand error from the Canadian handed Duan a 15-40 lead. She scored the break and made no mistake when serving for the biggest win over her career, closing out the final game to love.
As Duan goes on to face either Bojana Jovanovski or Tatjana Maria – a golden opportunity for all players to reach the third round – Bouchard is left to ponder where she stands.
“(The past 12 months have) really just been kind of eye-opening, a learning experience. But I'm good for the learning experience to be over now,” she smiled.
“It's definitely been a tough time. But if I stick with it, keep going, have the success I know I can have, I think it will be that much sweeter.”
