French Open: Eugenie Bouchard’s star power helping tennis development in Canada

The new president and CEO of Tennis Canada flew to Paris to get a quick taste of the French Open, but wound up staying on account of rising star Eugenie Bouchard.

“She played brilliantly,” Kelly Murumets told the Star over the phone from France.

The 20-year-old Canadian tennis player beat Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in three sets in the quarter-finals, convincing Murumets to spend another day in Paris.

If Bouchard is able to defeat her one-time idol and four-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova in the semifinals Thursday, Murumets will rebook her flight again without hesitation.

It’s just a small scale example of the power Bouchard holds.

“There is no question that Genie’s going to have a huge impact in our country,” Murumets said.

In many ways, she already has.

In January, Bouchard’s first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open (which she lost in straight sets to Li Na) was the most-watched broadcast for that Grand Slam in Canadian history, said Vijay Setlur, sport marketing instructor at York University’s Schulich School of Business.

And even though she’ll play Sharapova on a weekday morning at 9 a.m. ET, Setlur said he could “still see it drawing in the millions.”

read more: http://www.thestar.com/sports/tennis/2014/06/05/french_open_eugenie_bouchards_star_power_helping_tennis_canada.html

Sharapova holds off Muguruza, will face Bouchard in French Open semifinals

PARIS (AP) -- This is what Maria Sharapova does. She digs herself a big hole in a match, then figures a way out, no matter what it takes.

She hits shots left-handed. Takes her time between points. Pumps her fists and screams ''Come on!'' after her opponent's mistakes. And wins.

Did it in the fourth round at the French Open, turning things around by winning the last nine games. Did it Tuesday, too, reeling off nine of the last 10 games to put together a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over 35th-ranked Garbine Muguruza of Spain that put 2012 champion Sharapova in the semifinals at Roland Garros for the fourth consecutive year.

''When you just don't feel like anything is going your way, you want to try to find a little door to get into,'' Sharapova said. ''Once you start feeling, you know, like you got your foot in the door, then it's a little bit easier.''

After beating one 20-year-old, Sharapova now faces another, 18th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, who earned a semifinal spot for the second straight Grand Slam tournament.

source: http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/06/sharapova-advances-to-french-open-semifinals/51652/#.U4-f9ij57jt