Canada’s Bouchard still feels the hometown pressure at Rogers Cup
TORONTO — Eugenie Bouchard still feels the pressure ahead of her first match at the Rogers Cup, even if the women’s event isn’t in her hometown of Montreal this year.
Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., remains Canada’s top women’s singles player despite dwindling down from a career-high No. 5 ranking in 2014 to her current position as No. 73.
And while Toronto isn’t home — “as in the place where I grew up and played tennis at since I was eight years old” — Bouchard is still feeling the nerves before Tuesday’s match against No. 51 Donna Vekic of Croatia.
“Look, Serena (Williams) still says she feels nervous before matches, so I don’t think it’s ever something that any athlete completely masters,” Bouchard said. “I think it’s more about how well you deal with it. And it’s just an ongoing battle, really. Some days I feel like I’m better at dealing with it than others.