Canada’s Eugenia Bouchard doesn’t have plans to remain stagnant in the world rankings in 2014 and wants to further improve her gameplay in order to be at par with the world’s best.
“In the past year, I improved my mental toughness on court and my footwork, so now I want to work on things that will complement that, like more power on my shots, more consistency. I want to be able to stay with the top girls. In a battle with Serena [Williams, No. 1 in the world], you’ve got to stay with her until you get your chance to actually do something,” the young tennis star said in an interview with GlobeandMail.com
“Serena was so accurate with every shot, she could put her serve anywhere she wanted to, and I found it tough to predict where she was going. I need to improve my anticipation and running to the ball, but that gave me so much experience, so did being on centre court with Sharapova at the French Open, with Ivanovic at Wimbledon. You can’t duplicate those moments; you can’t feel that in practice. Now, when I walk onto a centre court, I know I’ve been there.”
“I don’t want to stay at No. 32, I know I can still be a lot better. Yes, I had a breakout year, but I expect a lot out of myself, so I didn’t surprise myself. I’ve been playing since I was 5, and that’s a lot of time on the court and in the gym, so I’ve always known this would happen. I can’t predict what will happen next, but I know for sure I’m going to try my best.”
Bouchard’s impressive results this season earned her a nomination for the WTA Newcomer of the Year Award. She’s currently the highest-ranked teenager in the world.
