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Eugenie Bouchard is a talented young player, rising through the ranks in women’s tennis. She reminds everyone of a certain Russian, who managed to do the same in her youth. The Canadian emerging star had a wonderful 2014, reaching the semifinals of the Australian and French Open and the final of Wimbledon. With a WTA title already to her name, Bouchard promises to have a wonderful tennis career. But she recently stated that she didn’t want to be compared to Maria Sharapova. “I don’t want to be the next someone else. I want to be the first of me,” Bouchard said. Here are five reasons why we agree with the 20-year-old.
#5 Junior record
Bouchard boasts an impressive resume in the juniors. She won the Wimbledon girls’ title in 2012 along with several ITF Challengers and tournament titles along the way. She won seven titles in total at the junior level.
Sharapova, on the other hand, has won five Grand Slams in her career. She has won every Slam and is still only 27, but failed to grab a junior Grand Slam title. The main reason for that, though, is that she was well past the junior competition! At 17, Sharapova lifted the Wimbledon title in 2004.
Bouchard’s rise to the game is significant, but her big break was the Wimbledon juniors’ title. Sharapova’s big break was the Wimbledon title itself!
#4 Grunts
Queen of the grunts, Maria Sharapova is extremely loud on the court. Some of her grunts have reached over 100 decibels!
Bouchard on the other hand is much quieter. In fact, she does not grunt at all! In this aspect, the two are worlds apart.
#3 Controversies
Eugenie Bouchard’s personality seems vey straightforward. She is simple in her game and her press conferences, and stays away from controversies. Even with the national team at the Fed Cup, Bouchard blended in perfectly, helping Canada reach the World Group I for the first time in the nation’s history.
Sharapova, on the other hand is not the easiest of teammates to deal with. After she defeated fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina at the 2004 WTA Tour Championships, both Myskina and the Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev were outraged at Sharapova’s father’s behaviour. During the match, Yuri Sharapova apparently kept yelling and screaming instructions, and Myskina said she did not want to be around him during the Fed Cup.
Later in 2007, Sharapova missed a few Fed Cup ties due to injury and was hence excluded from the finals of that year. However, she showed up to practise with the team, and some believed it was only to show commitment to Russian tennis for securing a spot in the 2008 Olympic Games.
Bouchard still has a long way to go in her career, but if she stays the way she is now, it is safe to say that the Canadian will be far away from any controversies.
#2 Beauty
There has been plenty of comparison between the appearances of Bouchard and Sharapova. Both have blonde hair, athletic built and are quite tall. Bouchard might be seven years younger than Sharapova, but it is difficult to deny that the Russian is the most attractive tennis player at the moment.
Though this is a subjective matter, in our opinion, Bouchard will never be able to match Sharapova in terms of looks.
#1 Game style
The main reason why Bouchard will not be the next Sharapova is their contrasting game styles. Sharapova is much more aggressive on court and throws the kitchen sink on every groundstroke that she hits. The Russian also prefers to hit swing volleys rather than the traditional punch. She is mentally very strong and simply refuses to give up on any point.
Bouchard on the other hand is very unpredictable. She likes to hit the ball extremely early and give less time for the opponent to react. She will get stronger as she gets older, but there are still major doubts if she can become as effective as Sharapova in the years to come.
