After her dream run in Australia—where she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal—Genie Bouchard was expected to consolidate her place amongst the elite. Although she still lacks consistency, the young Canadian sensation has been pilling up great results lately. And with a ranking inside the top 20, it was just a matter of time before she would achieve that goal.
After a series of mixed performances on clay—highlighed by wins over Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams en route to the semifinals in Charleston—Eugenie remained strong when it mattered most and managed to win her maiden WTA crown in Nürnberg. Seeded second at the start of the tournament, Bouchard did not drop a set until the final, bruising aside Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Anastasia Rodionova, Yaroslava Shvedova, and Karin Knapp. In the final, she showed great nerves, recovering from the loss of the second set to eventually serve out a marathon 6-2,4-6,6-3 win over Czech Karolina Pliskova.
"Today it was important to just keep at it," said the Canadian. "She's a great player, and she can be very dangerous at times, so I'm really glad I stayed with it and kept fighting for it during the third set.
"This is kind of like a stepping stone for me. Winning a WTA title is of course a goal I've had, and I'm so happy to accomplish it, but I still want to achieve more - more titles, bigger titles—so this is a step in the right direction, and it's part of the dream, but I want to move forward and keep going from here.
"I love Nürnberg. This city will always be special to me because it's where I won my first title."
This triumph represents a huge confidence booster ahead of the French Open scheduled to start in just a few hours. She may not be the most natural clay-court player on the tour, but Genie has the game and the mental strength to cause a few upsets in Paris. Being the charismatic person that she is, the Canadian will surely be a fan favourite at this year's Roland Garros. Go, Genie!
photo: GETTY IMAGES
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