by Marius Hancu
We have come to watch with great pleasure the progress that Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard is making in the WTA ranks. At 19, she is seeded 30 at the current Australian Open and, at her first participation in the main draw, she has already reached the semifinals. We Canadians might be not the only ones enjoying her outdueling Ana Ivanovic, who just beat mighty Serena Williams, in the quarterfinals. Such a performance was in the realm of possible, as Bouchard had beaten Ivanovic 6-3 6-3 in their only encounter, last year at Wimbledon, but to see Bouchard achieve it in athletic, determined fashion, from one set down, was something else.
She
is the first Canadian to be in the semis of a Grand Slam in 30 years (Carling
Bassett-Seguso did it at the U.S. Open in 1984). Canada was definitely much
better prepped to expect something like this from Milos Raonic, our leading
male player (who is at #11 in the world rankings), but Bouchard was faster.
Great for her - and for us, the fans, as we don't have to prolong the anxious
wait.
And
she is making waves in terms of great looks and tennis fashion too. One of her
interviews at the Australian Open went something like this:
"Q.
What is the thought process behind the clothes you're wearing for this
tournament, the style?
EUGENIE
BOUCHARD: The clothing? It's very fashion-y. I don't think you'd understand it.
It's high waisted. I tuck in the top. Just a different look."
Surely,
"fashion-y" is a great word. Let's not forget her family lives, it
seems, on the same street in Westmount, a rich part of Montreal, with former
Canadian PM Mulroney. Lots of high fashion there ... I can only guess.
Now,
seriously, dress/fashion is an important way for them, the players, to be
making their endorsement money, thus not small potatoes at all. So, perhaps you
will indulge my staying a bit on this, whether you agree with my take or not.
This, for your handy reference, is an image of
the famous-or-infamous dress (depending on the side of the fashion divide on
which you are perked). That dress and the
great serenading she gets at the Australian Open is now making the
rounds on the Web. "Genie's Army," Bouchard's Aussie boisterous fans,
are out in force to fete her the same way Lleyton Hewitt's "Fanatics"
are celebrating his feats. They even showed up on the Rod Laver Arena when she
was facing an Australian in prime time.
For
me, and this is a matter of personal taste, as I said on a famous tennis forum,
that skirt is overextended: yes - both too high and too low. I wondered at
times how she was both able to breath and run with it on her.
Perhaps
Maria Sharapova can easier wear very long, as she has other proportions, with
lots of space to, say, be addressed, or covered. I am not quite sure. I think
she wore it in Brisbane.
Anyway,
I, for one, also dislike the color combination on that particular skirt in
Bouchard's version: dark grey obliquely streaked with black. Now, that makes
not the best impression with so much light in Australia - it's even against the
spirit of their summer. Even Sharapova wore yesterday in the Australian Open a
shorter, diaphanous, light-colored dress.
However,
all this is just the way I see it and arbiter elegantiarum I am not.
Also,
my bottom line is this: Well, whatever, Genie, as long as you win. And win she
does. She clearly has classy lines (e.g., watch that at 0:39) and
tastes. And as long her fashions come out of her own thinking, and are not
something imposed/pushed by the clothing company for whatever reasons, she can
wear whatever she likes. And yes, I can see her trying to wear something
inspired from high-fashion - for the stuff of which that skirt is made of
certainly seems that way.
With
tennis and fashion mixing freely in her speech, the WTA and the ATP are fully
aware of the arrival of someone capable to carry multiple banners for them in
the future, and are doing well already using her as one of their poster ladies,
being pictured with the greats of the game.
Now,
to get to our real tennis muttons and Bouchard's game. One can
immediately appreciate it is a highly spirited one, with quick redirects.
"I think I just really try to take the ball early. I think that's good
because it takes away time from the opponent. She has less time to guess where
I'm going or try to read where I'm going," says Bouchard. She is lithe,
very athletic, in the manner of Steffi Graf, and moves great. As well, she
displays great energy and conviction. These will take her far. However, there
is place for more, if she really wants to get among the very best.
My
suggestions, as an observer of long date of this great game of ours, would be
for her to incorporate more variety in her play. Let us see more slices.
Wawrinka and Dimitrov, on the men's side, are able to make a very difficult
life for their opponents with their slices. Also, more lobs, more dropshots,
even high-topspin, down-the-line shots - she seems to favor the
low-to-medium-topspin, flattish variety. Let us see her coming more to the net
- she certainly has the speed and reflexes for being very effective there. This
would vary the diet served to her opponents and make even more difficult the
quandary in which they are when facing her. She does quite well in terms of
stepping into the court though - great first step.
Also,
biomechanically speaking, her shots can definitely be improved. While certainly
punchy and quick, sometimes they are not powerful to the extent I assume her
body could justify them to be. And they are this way because she seems to
remove the long swing from her repertoire, using only a short takeback motion,
which in quick-paced exchanges becomes even "snatchy" or
"elbowy," as her elbow seems to be quite advanced in its motion. Now,
the short takeback helps in terms of quick reaction, and in surprising the
opponent by stepping into the court or your shots. However, I am going to stand
on my box here and preach that one needs longer swing for maximum power for
more of her shots, for more winners. And she does it quite well in her running
forehands. Thus, I would work with her toward developing a smoother swing, a la
Federer (her hero), for more of her shots. Certainly, she is only at the
beginning of her physical development as a player, and strides on that side
will help too.
Learning
to hold more some of her shots, in order to go behind her opponent, to surprise
in the final direction of the delivery, is also important. This is also a
matter of exercised patience.
Her
second serve needs to become more reliable, deeper and more varied. More of her
serves should be directed into the body of her opponent. There should be more
variety between the topspin and the slice serve. Also, her down-the-T delivery
should become more dominant and more frequent.
The
point here is to avoid the fate of Caroline Wozniacki, a perennial
What's-That-Battery-Make Bunny, who with all her success (nothing to sneeze
at), has not been able to win any Grand Slam tournaments for lack of finishing
shots. Also, to extend her career to the maximum, by playing shorter rallies.
And I think the point was made to her by Li Na in the semifinals in terms of
being able to generate vastly more winners (three times more, to be exact).
On
the mental side, I think she does very well. It is really a pleasure to see how
composed she is, at only 19, and how quickly she recovers her compass after
high-paced exchanges. Overcoming Casey Dellacqua on the latter's home court,
the hallowed Rod Laver Arena, after losing the first set, and in a categorical
manner at the end, scoring the bagel, was quite remarkable.
Well,
tennis and fashion fans alike, fasten your belts, for you are in for a great
ride with Genie Bouchard.
——
Marius Hancu is also the author of Saluting a More Complete Milos Raonic, published at Yahoo. He is a novelist based in Montreal, Canada, and the author of the literary novels Simon and Hiroko and Our Lives as Kites (Amazon, Kobo). He has been following great tennis players for several decades. He has more tennis forum posts than he likes to remember, focusing on technique, competition, and health and conditioning. He is also a great ballet lover.
His collection of links Great Fitness Sites on the Tennis Talk forum (at Tennis Warehouse), dealing with tennis (and general sports) conditioning and ailments is, he likes to think, very appreciated.
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