Eugenie Bouchard is going to let herself enjoy this one.
Fresh after beating Maria Sharapova in the second round of the Madrid Open on Monday, the Canadian took to Twitter in celebration:
“I definitely had some extra motivation going into today,” Bouchard said after her 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win. “I was actually quite inspired before the match because I had a lot of players coming up to me privately wishing me good luck, players I don’t normally speak to, getting a lot of texts from people in the tennis world that were just rooting for me. So I wanted to do it for myself, but also all these people. I really felt support.
“It showed me that most people have my opinion, and they were just maybe scared to speak out.”
Bouchard called out Sharapova in April, saying the Russian should be “banned for life” after being suspended for a doping violation.
The 23-year-old hadn’t beaten Sharapova in their previous four meetings before Monday.
She’ll get to face world No. 2 Angelique Kerber in Round 3 at Madrid for her efforts, though Bouchard does have a 3-2 record against the German in her career.
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