Bouchard in need of a break to end slump

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  • Troubled: Bouchard.

    Eugenie Bouchard’s current slump is probably the biggest mystery of the 2015 tennis season. The Canadian was the most consistent player at the majors last year, making two semi-finals, one final and a fourth round, and while it all seemed like it was too good to be true, she carried herself in a way that made you believe she was the real deal.

    The WTA were busy making her the poster girl for the sport while she racked up those grand slam match wins – but it was her confidence that was the most striking think about her, not her blonde locks or long limbs.

    She would constantly repeat that making a final at a major was never going to be enough for her and that she expected more from herself. It’s almost like she put too much pressure on her own shoulders.

    The cracks began to show at the WTA Finals in Singapore at the end of last year. She couldn’t take a set off any of her fellow top-eight opponents, losing to Simona Halep, Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams all in straight sets. But it was the end of a long season and it was understandable she had run out of steam.

    She started 2015 by making the quarter-finals in the Australian Open, but she fell tamely to Maria Sharapova in that match. Still, no one would have predicted what was to come.

    After Bouchard turned 21 in February, Indian Wells was the last tournament where she has managed to win back-to-back matches.

    Her loss to world No 85 Lesia Tsurenko in the third round at Indian Wells was the first of six consecutive losses – including two in the Fed Cup.

    Her first round exit at Wimbledon on Tuesday was her eighth opening round defeat of the season – she suffered the same fate at Roland Garros – and through it all, Bouchard has been unable to find an explanation.

    The loss at the All England Club was mainly due to an abdominal tear but still it is difficult to view her losses as isolated incidents.

    The decision to play Wimbledon against her doctor’s orders was not wise and while it is admirable she didn’t want to miss her favourite tournament of the year, Bouchard could have been better off just taking some time off and coming back at the Rogers Cup in Canada, on home turf, feeling healed, refreshed and better prepared.

    Having made the final here last year, that loss to Ying-Ying Duan, a Chinese qualifier, must have only added to her woes. She could have done without that.

    Bouchard’s woe seems more than a mere sophomore slump. It can’t really be compared to Simona Halep’s current struggles for example because the Romanian has actually won so many titles, including Shenzhen, Dubai and Indian Wells this year alone, while Bouchard only has one title to her name, at Nurnberg last season.

    Some say it is all the attention and the off-court activities that are troubling Bouchard but that is too simplistic of an explanation and implies a woman cannot be doing photo shoots and magazine covers while also being successful at her job, which is ludicrous.

    Bouchard parting ways with her coach Nick Saviano at the end of last season could have had more of an impact than she has been letting on. Things are yet to click for her with Sam Sumyk, Victoria Azarenka’s ex-coach, and it must be terrible trying to get acquainted with a new coach while suffering this kind of malaise.

    One thing is clear, Bouchard’s problem is a lot deeper than we think and it will take longer than any quick fix people are suggesting.

    She has the characteristics to be a big champion and it seems she is capable of getting back to where she was – she peaked at No 5 in the world last year – but for now, she needs a break and a system reboot.

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