Montreal’s Eugenie Bouchard knows glamour when she sees it.
The 20-year-old French-Canadian blonde, amid her breakout year on the court and magazine covers, is right at home at the US Open.
The bubbly Bouchard is coming off a remarkably consistent Grand Slam campaign, making the semis at the Australian and French opens and the Wimbledon final.
Asked what she makes of the US Open, where Bouchard lost in the second round two years ago — in the juniors — she raved on.
“I see the U.S. Open as glamorous,’’ the seventh-seeded Bouchard said at Saturday’s Media Day. “That’s the word that comes to mind. The city is so full of energy. The fans get really into it here. It’s a crazy, busy, hectic week. Every time I come, I act as if it’s the first time I’m here and I’m taking pictures like a little kid in the car looking out the window. It has this special effect on you.’’
In a wide-open women’s field, Bouchard has as good a shot at her first slam title as anyone, as good a shot as the tall blonde she’s compared to — Maria Sharapova, who begins play Monday on Arthur Ashe Stadium’s opening-night card against a former top-10 player in Maria Kirilenko.
The comparisons between Bouchard, who recently did a Vogue fashion spread, and Sharapova stem more from marketability than strokes. Sharapova is pure power while Bouchard’s game is finesse and counterpunching, noted for defusing blistering serves by taking them early on the bounce.
Hence, Bouchard wears a tank top that reads “One Hot Drop Shot.’’
She plays her first match Tuesday against Olga Govortsova but now things change. Now there are expectations, especially eight hours from Montreal.
“It’s a position I want to be in,’’ said the bilingual Bouchard, who conducted a press conference in perfect English, then perfect French.
“I want to be coming up the ladder. I definitely know there are expectations and pressure to do well, something I’ve felt since Wimbledon. I’m on my way to the place I want to be. I’m not there yet.’’
The big question also remains: Will “The Genie Army’’ invade Flushing? A group of young Australian men, calling themselves “The Genie Army,’’ chanted and cheered her at the Australian Open, then made the trek with their “Genie”’ T-shirts to the Open tune-up in Montreal, her hometown.
“I don’t think the Australian version of the Genie Army is coming,’’ said Bouchard, who admits to being a former Montreal Expos diehard as a young kid. “I don’t know if there’s a New York version. We’ll see.’’
Sharapova, 27, is perennially a Flushing fan favorite, though she hasn’t won the title since 2006 and missed last year’s Open with recurring shoulder issues. Still, she won the French Open and her marketing blitz is at its apex, with credit due to her Jersey agent, Max Eisenbud. Despite her Open withdrawal last year, Eisenbud still announced the “Sugarpova’’ boutique candy company during the tournament.
At her press conference on Saturday, the first question was whether she would produce a sugar-free candy.
“With a name ‘Sugarpova’, I don’t think I will be doing anything sugar-free very soon,’’ she said.
While her candy is hot, Sharapova, who recently introduced her own line of tennis wear, admits her Open wardrobe is less “edgier’’ than in years past.
“Ever since I’ve gotten my collection, you have to tone things down a bit because that’s something that will be worn on a 14-year-old girl or someone in a women’s league,’’ she said.
Sharapova hasn’t been particularly sharp since winning the French, suffering a fourth-round loss at Wimbledon and not showing top form in the Open tune-ups.
“If there is a time to bring the game that I want to it’s definitely now for the next two weeks,’’ Sharapova said. “I wasn’t happy with the way I started the hardcourt season.’’