03 September,2014 07:49 AM IST | | AFP
Fame finally caught up with Eugenie Bouchard on Monday in a groggy, dizzy conclusion to her Grand Slam season which ended in a fourth round loss at the US Open
Canada's Eugenie Bouchard walks off court after being beaten by Russia's Ekaterina Makarova on Monday
New York: Fame finally caught up with Eugenie Bouchard on Monday in a groggy, dizzy conclusion to her Grand Slam season which ended in a fourth round loss at the US Open.
Canada's Eugenie Bouchard walks off court after being beaten by Russia's Ekaterina Makarova on Monday
The 20-year-old Canadian golden girl, playing her 58th match of a breakout year which saw her reach the semi-finals of the Australian and French Opens and take the runner-up spot at Wimbledon, went down 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to Russia's Ekaterina Makarova.
It was a disappointing way to end her US Open, but she admitted her status as the new poster girl of the women's game had probably played a role.
Monday's match was played in the crushing heat and humidity of the afternoon whereas her last two matches were in the night-time slot on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Light-headed & dizzy
Bouchard said: "I was feeling very light-headed and dizzy on the court, just seeing things a little blurry. I generally didn't feel good.
I've had a few late, tough matches here, and I don't think I fully recovered from those. The doctors think the heat got to me. And they know I probably was more tired than usual from the past few matches."
Bouchard had to have both her blood pressure and temperature taken midway through the second set. Her on-court struggles were at dramatic odds with the cheerful blonde, who mesmerised Wimbledon.
But since then, Bouchard has been distinctly under-powered, winning just one match in three tournaments coming here.
'Outside distractions'
"I definitely felt a lot of outside expectations and pressure to win matches. I felt more like it's normal if I win and it's a bit more of a disaster when I lost. That's something I need to block out," she admitted.
