After beating dope-tainted Russian in second round, Canadian Eugenie reveals she had extra motivation to do so as many players privately wished her success against Maria
Eugenie Bouchard is ecstatic after beating Maria Sharapova 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the Madrid Open second round on Monday. Pics/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
Eugenie Bouchard beat Maria Sharapova for the first time in five meetings in the second round of the Madrid Open on Monday 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 a week after labelling the Russian "a cheater."
She then claimed plenty of other players on the WTA Tour share her outspoken views on Sharapova's return from an 15-month doping ban, but are too "scared" to speak out. The Canadian also claimed Sharapova should have been banned for life after testing positive for Meldonium at the 2015 Australian Open rather than welcomed back with a series of wildcards for big events.
"I definitely had some extra motivation going into today," said Bouchard.
Maria Sharapova is stunned after losing a point to Eugenie Bouchard in the Madrid Open second round on Monday
"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. I wanted to do it for myself, but also all these people. It showed me that most people have my opinion, and they were just maybe scared to speak out, but privately, I've gotten a lot of support, so I was inspired and motivated to play."
The two exchanged a frosty handshake at the end of a thrilling nearly three-hour long encounter as Bouchard registered just her second WTA Tour win since the Australian Open in January. "I think she's been playing really well in her so-called comeback, if you want to call it that," Bouchard said about Sharapova's game.
Sharapova said she was "above" responding to Bouchard's jibes and that the extra attention caused by the bad blood between the two had not affected her performance. "I've been part of this game for many years," said Sharapova. "I know the drill, the excitement. There's always a lot of talk and buzz, match-ups, rivalries. It's part of the game."
Sharapova insisted there was no extra disappointment on her part for having lost to Bouchard despite vowing to let her tennis do the talking before the match. And she believes she will once again rise to the top of the tennis world to add to her five Grand Slam titles. "I'm a big competitor. What you work for so many hours every day is to be on the winning end. Today was not that day. I'm disappointed. That's what's going to make me a better player and win me more tournaments and Grand Slams."
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
