Eugenie Bouchard said she was pleased with her ‘focus’ as she advanced to the third round of the AEGON International at Eastbourne today after defeating no. 27 in the world Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
The 22-year-old played some solid tennis on Court One as she tries to put behind her past couple of troublesome years.
It wasn’t long ago that Bouchard was playing in a Wimbledon final against Petra Kvitova; in fact that was in 2014. But fast forward two years, Bouchard has slipped down the rankings and now sits a paltry 48th.
But her showing at Eastbourne so far as shown that the Canadian starlet might be getting back to her best. After coming through against Varvara Lepchenko, 6-1, 6-2 on Monday, and then today following that up with an impressive victory, all of a sudden things are looking rosy in the Bouchard camp.
Bouchard says she is really trying to ‘dominate’ the ball as her form picks up
Speaking after her second round victory, Bouchard said: “I feel like I’m playing well and I’m very focused in the matches, which is the most important.”
The 22-year-old made light work of Camelia-Begu today, a Romanian who is ranked higher in the world, and who is no pushover herself.
But talking about how she is approaching her game at the moment, Bouchard said: “I feel like I’m really trying to go after the ball and really trying to dominate the point, because all these girls are all good players.”
Bouchard would be the first to admit that last year wasn’t plain sailing, but the 22-year-old doesn’t have any regrets, saying: “I learned a lot so I can’t say I regret what happened. You know, there are ups and downs, and even great champions have bad moments and bad years.”
A good showing at Eastbourne will really give her another boost of confidence as she heads into Wimbledon.