Eugenie Bouchard was asked yesterday to describe her game. "Solid, aggressive," came the reply. The trade secrets are safe with the Canadian as she faces Petra Kvitova in today's women's final. Kvitova was asked about Bouchard's game "Very solid game, very good mover." Stalemate there.
The first possible title for a Canadian, the second for Kvitova, a lefty from the Czech Republic and €2 million, plus the change, for the winner, all in all a life-changing event for both players, who yesterday were cagey and uncertain, fearful of pressing any claims of their life after the final before they had played it.
It has been a week where Bouchard more than Kvitova has been put through the Wimbledon wringer off the court. However, questions about Justin Bieber, marriage proposals. on Twitter, Oprah Winfrey and particularly the Royal family seemed almost welcome as it took her away from the very thing she has been avoiding – expressing how to beat the 2011 champion.
Both players enjoy the back of the court, with Bouchard possibly taking the ball earlier than Kvitova but if either were watching the men’s semi-finals yesterday, they will have seen a Centre Court that is literally tearing apart.
Uneven bounces
The surface ensures uneven bounces and uncertain footing, with Bouchard sharp to what can happen there,
Simona Halep
turning an ankle in the first set of the semi-final and never quite recovering from it.
Kvitova knows what Grand Slam finals are like and that’s an advantage. She spoke yesterday of reading about the pressure of playing in the last game of the fortnight but not truly knowing what it was like until she walked out. What she was talking about was the physical manifestation of fear and it’s controlling influence.
Last year Sabine Lisicki lost to Marion Bartoli, the most unlikely winner for some years. But the French woman's success was derived from her stronger mental state, Lisicki unable to hit her normal shots when collapsing 6-1, 6-4.
“I don’t think it’s going to be something easy,” said Kvitova. “I didn’t see the final of last year so I don’t really know what happened there.”
She was quickly told what happened.
‘Be aggressive’
“I have to play my game,” she said knowing the consequences if she does not. “I mean, I have to use my left serve a lot and to be aggressive. That’s my game. That, I think can be the key.”
Bouchard, in her smaller revelations, appeared to understand that the player who dares wins. It’s her natural inclination to make her shots and suffer the consequences. There will be no change of thinking there.
“I want to try to take my chances, not kind of wait till someone gives it to me,” said Bouchard.
“So I think that’s an important thing that I do.”
A former junior Wimbledon winner, the 13th seed is the only woman this year to have made the Australian Open and French Open semi-finals. Trademark aggression and big serves fell short there. Today feels like the natural step up for a player with momentum and on the rise.
