Eugenie Bouchard no longer wants to be known as the "next Sharapova;" she'd rather be known as the "next Sharapova conqueror."
Eugenie Bouchard: WTA no place for friends
Bouchard, the 20-year-old Canadian who draws comparisons to Maria Sharapova for her mental toughness, showed why she earned those comparisons with a 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-5 victory over Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro to earn a spot in Thursday's semifinals of the French Open against ... Sharapova.
Bouchard, who already has grabbed the tennis world's attention by saying that the WTA is no place for friends, bluntly announced that while Sharapova may have been her childhood idol, things are a bit different now, as New York Times writer Ben Rothenberg tweets:
"We're not friends. So there's that." -Genie Bouchard, blunt as ever, on Maria Sharapova, whom she "respects." #RG14
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) June 3, 2014
The 18th-seeded Bouchard trailed No. 14 Suarez Navarro 5-2 in the first set and 4-1 in the third set before rallying each time for the victory.
"At the end of the day, whether I win or lose, I want to at least leave it all there and try and at least battle," Bouchard said during her post-match interview, according to Reuters. "I'm proud of the way I did that in both the first and third. For me it was such a physical and emotional battle."
Now, Bouchard must take out her childhood idol. Bouchard said she remembers watching Sharapova at a tournament in Miami when Bouchard was 7 or 8 years old.
"Well, I mean, first I noticed like her cute dresses and things like that when I was young," she said, smiling, according to Reuters. "I was watching the Miami tournament and a photo was taken of her and me when I was seven or eight. And then after this, I remember when she won Wimbledon (in 2004 when Sharapova was 17) I was watching her on TV, and I thought, wow, what she's doing is cool."
But it's Bouchard who has to play it cool and not get hung up playing her hero.
"I respect her. But now, you know, we're in the semis of a grand slam, so I'm going to respect her but not put her too high on a pedestal and really just battle," said Bouchard, who lost in the second round at Roland Garros last year to Sharapova..
"She has very powerful shots. I'll be ready for that. Also, mentally she's strong. But I think that I have a good serve and good shots, as well," Bouchard said.
Do you think Eugenie Bouchard can upset Maria Sharapova in the French Open semifinals? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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