Genie Bouchard: "2014 is a number I want to not think about ever"

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  • On a roll: Genie Bouchard.

    An emotional Angelique Kerber limped off the court after retiring while down 3-6, 0-5 to a resurgent Eugenie Bouchard to exit the Madrid Open in the third round on Wednesday night.

    Kerber, who will return to the world No1 spot on Monday despite her dramatic dip in form this season, sustained a hamstring injury during a rally in the penultimate point of the match and says there was no way she could continue.

    “I don’t know what it is exactly. I know it’s the left hamstring. I just felt it in the last game,” said a visibly upset Kerber. “I think now I will just check it. I will check it maybe tonight or tomorrow. I will see. I hope it’s not too serious. But, yeah, I can feel it a little bit.

    “The last point when I served, I was sure I cannot play more because I’m actually not the person who is retiring so often. When I feel it, it’s something. I hope it’s not serious.”

    Bouchard, who had lost five consecutive tour-level first rounds entering Madrid with a ranking of No60, has caught fire this tournament, beating Alize Cornet in her opener before overcoming Maria Sharapova in a three-hour battle on Monday. Those were her first-ever two wins in Madrid.

    After a rocky start that saw the pair exchange multiple breaks, the Canadian took control of her clash with Kerber and will now face Svetlana Kuznetsova in Thursday’s quarter-finals.

    “For sure that one (win over Sharapova) gave me confidence. My first round win gave me confidence. Feeling a bit better in practice coming into this week gave me confidence coming in,” said Bouchard on Wednesday.

    The question on everyone’s minds these past few days has been: Where has this Bouchard been hiding for most of the past two and a half years? The 23-year-old went from making a Wimbledon final and being No5 in the world to getting bagelled at an ITF tournament last month.

    “I think there are lots of factors,” she explains. “First of all, not being able to play amazing tennis week in, week out, that’s a given. Everyone has ups and downs. I obviously had more downs than I wanted to.

    “I think mentally not being in the right place, allowing outside voices kind of in, allowing the pressure to get to me. Quite a few things here and there that just affected me at different times. So it’s been a long, hard road for sure. This is three matches. I want to do 50 more this year. It’s a long road ahead of me.”

    One thing Bouchard is very clear on is that she no longer wants to even think about her breakthrough 2014 season. She is understandably tired of being asked about the past and only wants to look forward.

    “It feels far in the past. It (2014) is a number I want to not think about ever because we’re three years later and I’m still getting asked about it,” she says.

    “I understand why, but I don’t even want to be that player. I want to be better than that player. I want to stop thinking about those results and the past. I’m really, like, I don’t think about 2014 ever.”

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