Tennis Prose




May/17

8

Bouchard Blasts Sharapova in Madrid

 

Incredible display of women’s tennis today in Madrid with Eugenie Bouchard prevailing in a vicious contest over rival Maria Sharapova 75 26 64.

In one of the most intense WTA matches I have ever seen, Bouchard battled to a 7-5 2-2 lead then suddenly collapsed. From that point Bouchard, who has not won a WTA singles match since Australia, managed to win only three more points the rest of the set. 7-5 2-6.

Bouchard would turn the match around in the third set though. In a titanic battle, both players averted love-40 deficits and battled all the way tooth and nail. If it looked like it was two players competing against each other who detested each other, you’re observation may be correct.

Bouchard openly and publicly blasted Sharapova as a “cheater” for her near one year suspension for using the banned performance enhancing drug meldonium. Sharapova took the high road when asked by the media about the verbal criticism by Bouchard but one could sense a deep tension between the two players.

Both WTA superstars battled with an extra edge and intensity for the entire match and it was the younger Bouchard who ultimately scored the victory on her own serve, on her second match point with an untouchable cross court forehand. The match lasted two hours and 51 minutes.

Bouchard was elated with the sensational win, leaping twice into the air Federer style before tensely exchanging a terse handshake with her controversial conquest Sharapova.

This could be the type of match that awakens the talented but underachieving Bouchard, who has struggled to achieve many important victories over the last two years. This is the kind of epic triumph that could change everything for Bouchard including the direction of her career.

For Bouchard showed today in Madrid that she certainly has the talent, the power, the technique and the mental fortitude to win a Grand Slam major title on any surface.

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53 comments

  • Hartt · May 8, 2017 at 5:49 pm

    I said earlier that I would be truly shocked if Bouchard won this match, so I am truly shocked, but pleased. I got home just as the third set was about to begin and was surprised the match was still going on. Such entertaining tennis, some great play by both (and some not so great).

    I have mixed feelings about Genie but have never liked Maria, although obviously she was a top player. What Genie showed in this match was the fighting spirit that she displayed in 2014 and that has been missing for so long.

    We have been talking about the influence of coaches and I think Hogstedt is great for Bouchard. He was not with her for the last few tourneys and I think his presence in Madrid made a big difference. Hope Genie can continue to play at this level.

  • Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 5:54 pm

    I’m shocked. I predicted Sharpie winning and the mum handshake. Nope! To me the return of Sharpie has electrified the sport, and Bouchard and Mladenovic, Sharpie’s critics (I guess the big four of Sharpie critics are Cibulkova, Cornet, Bouchard and Mladenovic?) have put their money where their mouth is.very hard to do.

  • catherine bell · May 8, 2017 at 6:03 pm

    Oh.
    Sharpie must be spitting nails.
    Angie will have a better chance against Bouchard though.
    There is that.

  • scoopmalinowski · May 8, 2017 at 7:07 pm

    Bouchard clearly used emotional adrenaline today as an energy source. If she can summon this level of intensity for all her matches at Grand Slam majors she will win everything and be no 1. But of course its not easy to play so intense all the time. Only Hewitt Serena Rafa could do it. We learned a lot today about Genie.

  • scoopmalinowski · May 8, 2017 at 7:08 pm

    Also Genie said other players werw texting her support. Players she doesnt usually talk to. She also said her opinion of Maria has not changed. Ouch.

  • Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 7:24 pm

    Newsflash: If wta players are texting Bouchard then Bouchard has “friends” on the wta tour or at least allies or hitting partners that like her. Time to retire the sad line from sports journalists that Bouchard has no friends on the wta tour. That line is from 2014 and came from the fallout with one time promising wta player British burnout Laura Robson.

    Fact: BOUCHARD HAS WTA FRIENDS.their name is not Laura Robson.

  • Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 7:30 pm

    Scoop, big ouch. Sharpie is the most isolated player in wta right now. If other players are motivated to beat her as a statement or out of solidarity, that’s like a tribe throwing out a member.

    That said Sharpie relishes this stuff. She’ll never forget it and that’s probably going to make her work hard to show she still has the magic at slams.

    But for now it’s making players like Bouchard, who have been fumbling, rediscover their talent.

    Pretty powerful stuff.

  • scoopmalinowski · May 8, 2017 at 7:56 pm

    Andrew; devastating loss fir Maria. Now everyone knows they can bouchard Maria. Everyone will be super up to slay dragonpova. Maria could get torn to bits like by a swarm of piranhas. Eventually Maria will be run out of the sport. She could be the most disliked player since Rios. I wonder if one single player has her back. Kuznetsova? Vesnina? Makarova?

  • Hartt · May 8, 2017 at 8:21 pm

    The other thing to remember about Sharapova is she is now 30 years old and has lost 15 months of actual competition. I was surprised that so many commentators thought she had picked up where she had left off. In Stuttgart she won against Vinci and Marakova, two players who aren’t usually big threats to a top player (although they each can win if having a big day). Then she lost to Mladenovic.

    With more match play Sharapova may have more success, but it will be a process, not something that happens immediately.

  • Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 8:25 pm

    Sharpie didn’t lose by much. I’m sure she hates losing as much as ever. But she’s pretty tough, and if she stays at it she’ll be fine.

  • scoopmalinowski · May 8, 2017 at 8:51 pm

    Ive heard rumors from insiders Marias age is a ? Could actually be 32. With all the extra motivation now to beat her there is no guarantee she will regain her lost status. Those girls dont just want to beat her, they want to expel Maria off the tour!

  • Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 11:29 pm

    Revenge is its own reward. I just believe less in the opponents. Sharpie wasn’t better because of her meldomania, she was better because she was way better prepared. Far more dedicated. So serious. Uber professional.

    That’s not going to change. Bouchard HAD to win today’s match – and it took every ounce of her ability to so it.

    Like it or not Maria is the favorite no matter what her ranking is. Serena is off the tour for now. The default champion isn’t Kerber. Nor Bouchard. Or Konta (though I admire Konta’s grit). It isn’t Halep. Or Pliskova. Or Pliskova’s sister. Or Mladenovic.

    It’s Maria I will Will Myself Over the Finish Line Sharapova! She’s not here for a match, she’s here playing for keeps!!!

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 2:16 am

    I’m not a fan of either of these ladies but wanted so much to see Genie’s self-righteous mouth shut.

    It’s extremely disappointing to hear how bitchy the other players are towards Maria if the stories are true. Fills all the stereotypes of women I’m afraid. Men wouldn’t behave like that.
    Just like a bunch of schoolgirls.
    The press will make sure this runs and runs.

    Maria will have a tough time no doubt but I still say she’s paid for her transgression, returned to competition and should no more be ‘run out of the game’ than anyone else . And who knows what others have got away with ?

    The stands for the rest of the women’s matches will now be half full I bet.

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 3:12 am

    Hartt/Andrew

    Generally I agree with both your comments – and it’s not just a case of Good v Bad like some ancient Western. There are a lot of greys out there.

    Maybe because I’m very likely older (unfortunately) than most people who post on/read this site I have a slightly different attitude and longer perspective. Bad feelings stirred up like this have tendency to persist for years and leave a legacy. It’s not worth it – not in the whole scheme of life.

    And as for Angie, who’ll play Bouchard, if I knew she was one of those who joined the texting anti-Maria brigade I’d be sorry – I would have thought she was above such childish behaviour. A lady, in fact.
    Doesn’t really matter I suppose. She’ll lose .

  • Hartt · May 9, 2017 at 6:39 am

    I am not so sure Kerber will lose to Bouchard. Genie has played 2 good matches, it is hard to say if the old Bouchard is actually back. Angie needs to find that more aggressive play, however. I hope that they both play well, think that both need a confidence boost.

  • Dan markowitz · May 9, 2017 at 7:13 am

    Firstly, Sharpie’s return has “electrified” women’s tennis? I wouldn’t go that far. It’s brought more interest, but Sharpie hasn’t been a champion for years and having her back is interesting, but not riveting. For that you’d need Serena to return or have a new young exciting player to surface of which the era really has none. Who is the WTA’s Kyrgios or Zvererev?

    Boy, Sock has gone down the tubes losing in last three events to Thompson, SteveJo and now Mahut!

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 7:49 am

    Hartt – actually I hope Angie will win – I was reverse jinxing her 🙂 But as you suggest she’s got to fling caution to the winds and be aggressive from the start and on every point. She’s got nothing to lose. Torben really has to get that through to her somehow.

    Dan – you’re right. Maria’s return is a bit of a sideshow. But the media love it.

    The WTA rankings are bizarre. There’s Serena on top who’s not playing at all this year, Muguruza 5, and what’s she done ? Poor Simona at 8 and on her way out of the top ten although she’s played well (Fed Cup) where no points are counted – big mistake that, WTA.

  • Hartt · May 9, 2017 at 8:16 am

    Ka. Pliskova is No. 3 and has the game to do well (maybe not on clay). She is not charismatic so she may not be the ideal player to create interest for the WTA. Maybe Halep can start to have better results. I will be interested to see how she plays today.

    Catherine, knew you are supporting Kerber. Will the reverse jinx work? For best jinxing you need Tignor to go with Genie, that will almost guarantee an Angie win! 🙂

    Genie, quite rightly, said she is a big underdog against Angie. Certainly there is a huge difference in their rankings.

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 8:27 am

    Hartt – Hmmmm – big difference in their rankings but probably not in their play. Angie would have lost to Sharapova.

    Tignor’s predictions can be off the wall. I’m afraid I don’t look at tennis.com much now. It’s like reading Hello! magazine. I can do that at the hairdresser.

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 11:32 am

    Simona struggles past Vinci in 3. Don’t know if Cahill is there and she had OCC.
    Would be a good sign if she didn’t – not a good sign if she did.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2017 at 11:35 am

    Catherine; any w is a good w.

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 11:37 am

    Simona/Stosur rematch next round. Defending champ – she should be motivated.

    Bouchard is still droning on about Sharapova – someone should advise her that a period of silence would be welcome.

  • Hartt · May 9, 2017 at 11:55 am

    Cahill was there and she did have OCC.

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 1:13 pm

    Oh dear.
    Simona’s not close to making that jump. Even if she goes on to win the whole thing I can’t see any significant improvement if she’s still dependant on OCC. Won’t say much for her opponents of course.

    Scoop – some wins are better than others.
    Wins at GS without OCC are worth far more than the other kind.

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 1:21 pm

    I saw a couple of Cahill’s comments – just telling her stuff she should know.
    OCC is getting to be an obsession with me I can see but it truly does boggle my mind that players ranked in the top 10 need to be told this drivel.

    Simona played Fed Cup and won amid the chaos – she also played Stuttgart on her own. She’ll never improve as long as that lifebelt is there for her.

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 1:45 pm

    One of the fundementals of learning – we learn through mistakes but that only works if eventually we develop the skill to solve problems independently.
    Otherwise it’s called ‘learned helplessness’.

    Maybe OCC should be limited to one match per tournament.

  • Hartt · May 9, 2017 at 1:59 pm

    I dislike OCC as well. Sometimes I wonder if it is used more to calm the player down rather than to impart useful advice.

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 2:13 pm

    You may be right – and there are plenty of techniques out there for players to use to calm themselves down during changeovers etc. I always remember Arthur Ashe ‘meditating’ under his towel during his match v Jimmy Connors at W’don in 74.

    Copaches maybe should do courses in that and also a bit of learning theory.
    BTW – 3 Romanians won in women’s singles today !

  • Andrew Miller · May 9, 2017 at 2:24 pm

    Dan’s take is right. It’s sign of a tour that is hurting. But it’s creating ripples. A motivated on court versus only behind the microphone Bouchard is new.

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 2:45 pm

    Andrew –
    The ripples will spread wider and wider and then disappear altogether as people get sick of the whole show and we’ll be back where we started from.
    Chaos alternating with dullness.

  • Dan Markowitz · May 9, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    Catherine,

    You seem overly pessimistic about the women’s tour. I’m not a big fan of it, but maybe Bouchard will break out again or Bencic or Keys and there will be a young brash champ who will capture our imaginations. I just don’t like watching most of the women players and I haven’t seen one yet with a personality that’s engaging, like a Kyrgios or even Tiafoe.

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 4:31 pm

    Dan
    You’ve basically summed it up. That’s more or less how I feel too.

  • Hartt · May 9, 2017 at 5:01 pm

    I can’t resist joking about the Tignor jinx – if he picks a player to win it is very bad news for that player. So, when he picked Verdasco over Sascha (which seems strange to begin with) I thought that was great for Sascha, and sure enough, Sascha won in SS. He did not play his best but Verdasco played poorly.

    Which brings us to today’s picks. Some, like Nadal over Fognini are so solid that even the Tignor jinx should not have an effect. But Kerber fans should be thrilled he picked Genie for the win. Bad news for Bouchard! 🙂

  • Hartt · May 9, 2017 at 5:04 pm

    Catherine, regarding “meditating” during changeovers, Raonic often does that. It looks sort of strange but it seems to work for him.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2017 at 6:00 pm

    Catherine: How about a nickbame for you – OCCC 🙂

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2017 at 6:03 pm

    Some good WTA personalities on court – Schiavone Bouchard (when she uses emotional adrenaline) Cornet Kiki Serena Coco Bethanie Sands Vesnina –

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2017 at 6:03 pm

    Verdasco is struggling lately – confidence tank running on fumes –

  • catherine bell · May 9, 2017 at 7:40 pm

    Hartt –
    Afraid Tignor’s right with Bouchard. But I seem to remember he picked Cibulcova to win the whole thing –
    huh ?
    Angie’s playing last match on and she hates playing late at night. Someone’s backing Genie.

  • catherine bell · May 10, 2017 at 3:38 am

    Hartt –
    To feed my obsession – have you ever seen Angie use OCC ?

    I know Serena has never done so, to my knowledge.

  • Hartt · May 10, 2017 at 6:11 am

    I think I have seen Angie use OCC but don’t think she does it often. I will look out for that in her upcoming matches.

  • catherine bell · May 10, 2017 at 7:02 am

    I think she addressed her coach in Singapore last year but it was more an outburst of despair than a serious request for help – she knew nothing was clicking.

    Let’s hope Angie has a few ‘upcoming matches’ 🙂

  • Thomas Tung · May 10, 2017 at 12:52 pm

    Scoop: Verdasco’s family owns a number of successful restaurants in Madrid so after tennis, he will (most likely) pick up the family profession and help his family out (Fernando’s father hinted as much during the ATP inside focus video I saw).

  • Hartt · May 10, 2017 at 1:07 pm

    There is a piece about Milos on today’s ubitennis.net, “Injury-free Milos Raonic Seeks a New Direction.” I knew Milos had split with his fitness trainer, but this is the first time I heard that the trainer was replaced by a guy in New York who is outside the tennis world. If he is the solution to Milos’ injury problems that would be huge. As Milos said, when he is healthy he has done well.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 10, 2017 at 8:13 pm

    Raonic needs to practice yelling Come On fifty times a day after practice – Gotta raise his intensity levels like Bouchard did this week vs Sharapova – If Raonic can play with Bouchard’s new intensity he will win a GS – If Raonic can’t raise his intensity/emotional adrenaline I don’t think he can win anything special –

  • Dan Markowitz · May 12, 2017 at 4:28 pm

    Geez, just saw (on tape) Dimmy blow one set lead and then 6-3 in breaker 3rd set against Thiem and lose. His coach, who btw looks like he could be Dimmy’s brother, was steaming. And then my tape ran out just at the beginning of the Nick v Rafa match and Nick got crunched 1 and 3. What’s up with that, Nick? You couldn’t hang with Rafa at all?

  • Hartt · May 12, 2017 at 5:45 pm

    Nick was very subdued during his match with Rafa. I don’t think he tanked but he could not get fired up. I am beginning to think that Nick’s level of play is directly affected by his emotions (more so than most players). If he is not feeling in great spirits he does not play well.

    Dani Vallverdu, Dimitrov’s coach, worked with Andy Murray for about 4 years and then briefly with Berdych. He must be feeling frustrated with Grigor.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 12, 2017 at 7:35 pm

    Nick Kyrgios scoreline vs Rafa looks like a tank -perhaps he’s focusing on doubles this week –

  • Dan Markowitz · May 12, 2017 at 11:18 pm

    Well, I heard early in the Mary Carillo-Gimel Tennis Channel broadcast that Nick’s grandfather just died and that he was very close to him. He didn’t want to play Madrid apparently, but was talked into it by his father. That’s a real tough situation to endure. Remember a couple year’s back when Djoker lost in Monte Carlo after his beloved grandfather died.

  • catherine bell · May 13, 2017 at 3:56 am

    Looks like Schiavone won’t be in Rome at all – very poor behaviour on the part of the Italians. She a got wc to the qualifying but understandably did not want to accept that.
    So let’s hope she can get through a few rounds at RG, scene of her greatest triumph 🙂

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 13, 2017 at 9:46 am

    One of the WCs should drop out and give it to Schiavone – Outrageously obscene disrespect to Schiavone – this is shockingly ridiculous – Legendary Italian player who win first GS for Italy in however many decades and to be treated like this is shameful –

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