The similarities between Eugenie Bouchard and her advisor leading into the US Open, five-time US Open champion Jimmy Connors, could soon be even more similar than their intense on-court personalities and relentless fighting spirit.
It was 24 years ago that Connors made an improbable run to the semifinals of this tournament as a 39-year-old wild card ranked No. 174. Although Bouchard is the No. 25 seed and hardly ranked as low, her run into the second week has been just as odd-defying.
Coming into this tournament, Bouchard had won just three of her previous 16 matches and hadn’t recorded back-to-back victories in six months. Her last tournament, at the Emirates Airline US Open Series event in New Haven, saw the Canadian win just a single game in an opening round loss to Roberta Vinci.
Desperate for an end to the slump, she recruited Connors to work with her in the days leading up to the US Open. And while a few days before a Grand Slam typically isn’t enough to do more than a mere evaluation, it seems that Connors has helped ignited the spark missing from her game.
Bouchard has appeared far more certain of herself on court than in recent months, going for her shots without hesitation and trusting herself in the crucial stages of matches. And perhaps most importantly, her fighting spirit is back on full display. That was evidenced by her nearly three-hour victory in the third round on Saturday against Dominika Cibulkova, 7-6 (9), 4-6, 6-3, during which she fought off five set points in the opening set.
“I definitely felt more inspired than last week. More inspired, more confident, more motivated,” she said. “Working with Jimmy has given me a different point of view. He's very energetic. He's kind of lifted my spirits a little bit. He believes in me. He helped me kind of believe in myself more and regain that confidence.”
Although Connors isn’t with her at the moment, Bouchard said he’s watching her matches from his home and offering match counsel over the phone.
Since turning pro in 2009, Bouchard had enjoyed a continual and rapid rise up the rankings for several years. She won the Wimbledon girls’ singles title in 2012, then reached her first WTA Tour final in 2012 and was named WTA Newcomer of the Year. Last year, she reached the finals of Wimbledon and the semifinals of both the Australian Open and French Open, finishing the year at No. 5 in the rankings and receiving the WTA Most Improved Player award for the 2014 season.
But as she kept on racking up her match count, Bouchard’s body began to betray her. She suffered a forearm injury at the end of last year and an abdominal injury has hampered throughout much of the 2015 season. Perhaps just as difficult to deal with, the media darling image she received in the press was also replaced with less than flattering headlines.
“Everyone kind of jumped on the bandwagon last year and were super quick to be at my throat this year,” said Bouchard. “It’s a bit hard in a way. I try to block it out as much as possible. I've learned the media, they always want to write a story. They always need a headline. I try not to take it personally. [But] I don’t think I deserved all the stuff I got.”
But while the media can sometimes kick someone during their worst moments, everyone also loves a good comeback story. Bouchard is delivering that in spades this year and the fans are responding in expected fashion, with chants of “Let’s go, Genie!” ringing through Louis Armstrong Stadium during the final stages of her match with Cibulkova.
“I’m getting that positive affirmation that the work I've done, how I know I can play is good, that I'm on the right path,” she said. “When you have a loss sometimes you question everything you're doing, your team, your inner belief. A win definitely helps in the confidence department.”
And perhaps fittingly, Bouchard will get a rematch against Vinci on Sunday for a place in the quarterfinals, which would be the best US Open result of her career. Whether she can match Connors’ inspired semifinal run – or advance even further – remains to be seen. But she has some added incentive to make it to the final weekend.
“Jimmy is planning to come back here, but only next Sunday,” she said. “So I have to do well to see him again.”
