EUGENIE BOUCHARD LIKED THE NIGHT CROWDS @ 2014 US OPEN

Written by: Staff on 3rd September 2014

EUGENIE BOUCHARD LIKED THE NIGHT CROWDS @ 2014 US OPEN

epa04373442 Eugenie Bouchard of Canada reacts after defeating Sorana Cirstea of Romania during play on the fourth day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 28 August 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JASON SZENES |

After reaching a Wimbledon final in front of the best-behaved crowd in tennis, Canadian Eugenie Bouchard was thriving in the opposite end of the cultural spectrum as she continued a run at the rowdy New York hothouse of the US Open.

The seventh seed who lost the Wimbledon final to Petra Kvitova, played her last two Open matches under the lights at Ashe. And the 20-year-old was been impressed with the entire experience.

The player named for British royalty (Princess Eugenie, daughter of Sarah Ferguson) had been doing well with Gotham’s beer-fuelled masses who never hesitate to make their presence known to players.

That’s fine with Bouchard. “I heard some [shouts] vaguely, I really try to block it out and zone in. I just felt there was noise all the time. The changeovers were like a party scene on the court, the loud music, the fans. It was definitely an entertainment type of experience.

“I think that’s really cool for the fans to get into it. But I definitely felt the support out there. It’s really cool playing in such a huge stadium. It’s like nothing else, I guess.”

Bouchard said that even late starting times and post-midnight finishes are all a part of the particular ambience. “It’s part of the US Open experience. You don’t get there at the French Open or Wimbledon,” she said. It’s exciting; I would be fine playing at midnight, that would be cool.”

Eugenie Bouchard of Canada serves to Corana Cirstea of Romania during play on the fourth day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 28 August 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JASON SZENES