A fellow Canadian helps out as Eugenie Bouchard prepares to open her Indian Wells campaign

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Canadian Philip Bester played Davis Cup in Guadeloupe and flew all the way to Indian Wells last Sunday, only to lose in the first round of the men's singles qualifying.

He's here until Friday, then heads out to play a Challenger tournament back in the cold in Drummondville, Que.

But with a little free time on his hands, why not give a lady a helping hand?

The 27-year-old was Genie Bouchard's hitting partner for her late afternoon warmup Thursday, before she headlined the evening session on the big stadium court at the BNP Paribas Open.

Bouchard, unseeded, was easily the highest-profile of the women player in action Thursday. The 32 seeded players get a first-round bye in the 96-player draw and with her current ranking, Bouchard isn't one of them. She faces qualifier Risa Ozaki of Japan.

The 22-year-old has been in a spectacularly lighthearted mood all week - relaxed and smiling. Bester certainly helped with keeping things light.

As she left the practice court, the Canadian got caught in an absolute crush of fans, and signed everything and took every selfie – then went over to the enclosure nearer the locker room and signed some more.

Here's what her warmup looked like.