29 May 2014

Regal Bouchard aware of style and Ten Open Bouchard

6:48 am on 29 May 2014

Canadian tennis starlet Eugenie Bouchard has reached the third round of the French Open but admits her storming rise to fame means she has to be conscious of how she looks as well as how she plays.

The highly-rated 20-year-old, who won her first WTA event last weekend at Nuremberg, beat Julia Goerges of Germany 2-6 6-2 6-1 and now faces Sweden's Johanna Larsson.

Bouchard's blonde hair and good looks have already led to comparisons with Maria Sharapova while on the court, her achievements continue to grow and her career highlight so far came earlier this year when she reached the Australian Open semi-finals.

Her army of fans continues to grow and a group of university students launched the 'Genie Army' which led to her agent making sure her supporters had tickets for matches and the creation of franchises in Montreal, New York, China, Italy and Cape Town.

Bouchard is currently ranked 16, was voted WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2013, and jumped 122 spots from the end of 2012 to the end of 2013 - 144 to 32.

With the women's draw blown wide open following the elimination of defending champion Serena Williams and second seed Li Na, the future could be now for Bouchard.