There is no way to overstate what Eugenie Bouchard has accomplished on the grass court at Wimbledon this week. Already shooting towards international stardom—reaching the semifinals in three straight Grand Slam events—Bouchard fully arrived by defeating Simona Halep to reach the Wimbledon final.
If she wasn’t already, “Genie” is a global personality now. Her accomplishment isn’t just an aberration. This is no real surprise. Since the Australian Open, Bouchard has proven—insisted, really—that she is one of the premier players in the game today. She will reach the top 10 regardless of Saturday’s outcome against Petra Kvitova. If she prevails against the No. 6 seed, Bouchard’s ascent will be complete.
In her semifinal loss at the French Open to Maria Sharapova, Bouchard played a hero of her youth with ferocious fire. She was outplayed, but didn’t flinch. She was learning with every stroke. Bouchard knew she’d be back. Didn’t doubt it for a moment.
When she fought through the opening rounds at Wimbledon, she was just building steam.
- In round one, she topped Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 7-5—with four aces and a serve that topped-out at 108 mph.
- In round two, she knocked off Spain’s Silvia Soler Espinosa 7-5, 6-1, winning 67 percent of her first-serve points.
- In round three, Bouchard took down Andrea Petkovic, the No. 20 seed—6-3, 6-4—winning 78 percent of her net points. Her top serve reached 110 mph.
- In round four she edged out Alize Cormet, the 25th seed—7-5, 7-5—in an exhausting match that tested her mental stamina.
- Then in the quarters, she faced Angelique Kerber the No. 9 seed, whom she had beaten a month earlier on the clay at Roland Garros. Bouchard won the first set 6-3 playing aggressively, but struggled to close out the German in the second. In the final game she ended with three break of serves on 13 chances.
- That set up Thursday’s semifinal against No. 3, Simona Halep—and her chance to make Canadian history and to get one step closer to seemingly inevitable reign as tennis royalty. And 7-6 (5), 6-2—and she’d arrived at the Wimbledon final, without losing a set.
That’s the big picture. The small picture, back in here in Canada, is that we have a new national hero. One who is charming and charismatic and completely unapologetic for her success.
This, it seems, has caught many in Canada by surprise. We are not a nation of tennis players. Bouchard is the first Canadian to ever make the Wimbledon final. We’re not quite sure how to deal with that. Should we all wear white? Do we need to buy fancy hats? We can’t comprehend her achievement. Not yet. Bouchard’s success will continue—and as a result the game in Canada will grow, with so many young boys and girls looking up to her and dreaming of being so unapologetically good.
The same could be true for Milos Raonic, if that bum ever makes the Wimbledon final. Now we’re getting the hang of it. We’re Canada, and we expect our balls to fall within the lines; we expect to win.