Eugenie Bouchard, fresh off a win in Germany, arrives in Paris
PARIS –The thing about playing the week right before a Grand Slam event – especially if you (pardon the pun) have grand aspirations – is that if you do well, the turnaround is lightning-quick.
Montreal's Genie Bouchard won her long-awaited first WTA Tour singles title Saturday afternoon in Nürnberg, Germany. Less than 24 hours later, she was on Court 11 at Roland Garros getting her French Open feet under her.
And Monday, Bouchard will be on the court against Israeli's Shahar Pe'er.
Here are some photos of Bouchard's practice session Sunday.
(If you can't see the slideshow on your iPad, click here)
A few notes:
*Bouchard's coach, Nick Saviano, was not with her during the clay-court season leading into Paris – which was sort of a washout before her victory in Germany Sunday. But he's back in the saddle.
*Add another hitting partner to the growing 2014 list for Bouchard. We don't know who the guy is (he's pictured in the above slideshow). But we're betting he's French.
*The bright pink Nikes Bouchard was wearing were impressive.
*Bouchard's first-round opponent, Shahar Pe'er, was assigned the same practice court, and the two were side-by-side for a portion of the session. This type of thing happens all the time. But still, when you think about it, tennis is such a civilized sport.
One errant smash, one slightly off-target forehand, one sudden slip of the racquet of the hand ... and it's all over for your opponent. And yet, this never happens!
*American Madison Keys had so much trouble with the sun while practicing her overhead – as in, couldn't see a darn thing – she and Pe'er even changed sides so Keys could hit some. A few minutes later, Bouchard stepped right up, on the same sun side of the court, and knocked off seven or eight perfect ones.