French Open: Maria Sharapova and Eugenie Bouchard – the battle of the steely beauties
Just over a dozen or so years ago, a little child walked up to Maria Sharapova in Miami asking to be photographed with her. Later this evening, the child, now a woman in full blossom will be standing across the net from the woman she admired during her formative years.
Remarkably both women have stated this week that the tour is no place for friends and that they are far less interested in making friends than they are in winning matches. Another thing that is common between the women is their steely resolve. Besides of course, the candy floss looks that have the stands melting from heated admiration.
We have witnessed both Sharapova and Bouchard dig their heels in and work their way back from nearly lost positions as they marched with adamancy and determination to keep their campaign alive. In fact Bouchard, who was also in the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this year, seemed down and out against Carla Suzarez Navarro.
The Canadian was a game from losing the first set, down by a couple of breaks. But she worked her way back to not just claw even, but to race past and clinch the set. The experienced Spaniard gathered her wits to take the second set and ran up a 4-1 lead in the final set.
Many thought, Suarez Navarro may have done enough to wrap up a hard fought victory. Not Bouchard, who continued to play carefree aggressive tennis to rally her way back before eventually reining in her opponent. It was a dogged performance that allowed us a fair glimpse into the composition of a woman, many agree will be a future champion.
Looking ahead to her match against Sharapova, this is what Bouchard had to say, "Well, first, I mean, you know, we're not friends, so there is that. Yeah, of course as a child I looked up to her and I remember watching her in the finals of Wimbledon (in 2004).” Just to be sure, Bouchard added, "we're in the semis of a Grand Slam, so I'm going to respect her but not put her too high on a pedestal and really just battle. That's what it's going to be."
Sharapova was asked, what she thought about her opponent. "Yeah, I think the younger generation is ambitious. That's why they are in these stages of the tournament. I mean, my opponent today has played – the level that she's played this tournament was extremely high, as you saw the majority of the match today," Sharapova said. "Someone like Eugenie who has been up and coming for a couple of years, I think this is the year where she's really broken through, especially at the Grand Slams, playing at a high level."
Incredibly, Sharapova has only lost three matches on clay when she has won the first set. So it was obviously imperative for Bouchard to start well and take the fight to her opponent from the start of the match. After all this was the Russian’s 18th appearance at this stage of a grand slam, while the Canadian is still cutting her teeth at this level.
But Bouchard is an ambitious girl with immense belief and the desire to go with it. She has been absolutely clear that she had no intention of letting her tournament end on Thursday, but we will see if Sharapova will allow her the luxury of an extended stay very soon. Either ways, this one promises to be an intense battle between two equally feisty women.
Interestingly, it was observed yesterday that Bouchard had heated arguments with her long time coach Nick Saviano, who has been training her since she was 12. It is understood Bouchard slapped a ball into the adjoining food court before walking away from practice. You might expect a woman of Bouchard's resolve to get over such an incident quickly, but this is a big semifinal and any anxiousness might prove costly for the young Canadian.