Eugenie Bouchard Falls To Petra Kvitova In Wimbledon Championship
By Jared Book
Eugenie Bouchard took the next step in her up-and-coming career but ultimately not the step she, or the rest of Canada, wanted. The 20-year old Canadian lost to Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-0 in the Wimbledon final Saturday.
Kvitova’s win is her second Wimbledon championship and she has moved up to No. 4 in the world. Her power dominated Bouchard’s serve and her serve didn’t let Bouchard get back into the match.
For Bouchard, the first Canadian woman to ever reach the final of a Grand Slam, it is a bitter pill to swallow. She hadn’t lost a set prior to this match. She now moves up to No. 7 in the world with her performance in London.
Bouchard is not in bad company with the disappointing performance in the final. Chris Evert, who won Wimbledon three times, lost her first appearance in a final at Wimbledon 6-0, 6-3 to Billie Jean King.
Bouchard was trying to become the quickest woman to ever go from Junior champion to Senior champion. Martina Hingis was the quickest who had done it in three years. Bouchard is the quickest to reach the final after winning the Junior championship.
The next Grand Slam will be the U.S. Open but before that, Bouchard will no doubt have a raucous following in Montreal. Her rise in the tennis world will no doubt raise the profile of the Rogers Cup in August.
It will be the first chance that a Canadian crowd will be able to show support for Eugenie’s season to date. The fact that it happens to be in her own backyard should also add to the intrigue.
It has been a very good couple of years for the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Last year, it made history with two Canadian semi-finalists and Milos Raonic in the final.
This year, the crowd can rally around a Canadian who may just very well be one of the tournament favourites.
It may not be the result that she wanted, but if you look at the tournament as a whole, there is no shame for Bouchard’s tournament. She has risen from the top-30 at the start of the season to now No. 7 after rising over 100 spots last season.