Canada is close enough.
With Serena Williams the lone American left in either the men’s or women’s draw, Eugenie Bouchard has seen her popularity rise at the U.S. Open. Saturday night, with the backing of virtually the entire Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, the bubbly seventh seed from Quebec willed herself to a dramatic three-set victory, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, over unranked Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the third round.
“I definitely felt their support tonight,” Bouchard said. “We’re neighbors. We’re pretty similar countries. So maybe they have adopted me a little. The support, the screaming, the chants, it’s amazing. It’s so motivating. I wish I could play on a court like this every day. That’s what makes the U.S. Open so special.”
In just her second full year on the tour, Bouchard has emerged as a Grand Slam contender. She was runner-up at Wimbledon to Petra Kvitova and reached the semifinals at the Australian and French Opens.
Bouchard wasn’t sharp, committing 39 unforced errors, compared to 35 winners, and lost her serve four times. But the 20-year-old was at her best when she needed to be.
After Zahlavova Strycova was broken at four-all in the third set, double faulting to lose her serve, Bouchard held at love to win the two hour and 31-minute match.
She will face Russian Ekaterina Makarova, the 17th seed, and as the highest seed in her quadrant of the draw, a semifinal showdown with Williams doesn’t seem far-fetched.
Bouchard said her greatest accomplishment is winning the 2012 Wimbledon juniors title. But she has higher aspirations now.
“My real goal is to win the real one,” she said, referring to a Grand Slam title.