MADRID — It was a reasonably routine qualifying victory in the relative obscurity of Stadium 3 at the Mutua Madrid Open. But for Eugenie Bouchard, this represented a huge leap forward — and, at the same time, a blessedly backward-feeling bounce.
The 29-year-old Canadian prevailed 6-3, 6-2 over Elizabeth Mandlik in the second round of qualifying on Tuesday. That delivered her first main-draw WTA Tour 1000 berth without the benefit of a wild card in more than four years. Bouchard will plays fellow qualifier Dayana Yastremska in the opening round.
Afterward, speaking with three reporters, Bouchard was asked if it was a big moment. Bouchard responded with a soft sigh.
“Umm …” she said, tempered by a recent history of false restarts. “Yes and no. I’ve gotten a couple of good matches in. I’m just proud that I’m able to have a chance to play another match. Matches are what I need right now — I’ve been off intermittently for a while.
“It’s like restarting at zero.”
Madrid Open: Scores | Order of play | Draw
Bouchard was talking about the Madrid draw, but she could have been describing the current state of her often cathartic career. Standing with her arms behind her back, blonde hair pulled tight by a lavender scrunchie, she candidly and thoughtfully discussed her early breakthroughs, the fallow period that followed and the grueling comeback from shoulder surgery.
Eleven years ago, she was the Wimbledon junior champion, a decade ago the WTA Tour Newcomer of the Year and one year later — at the age of 20 — a Wimbledon finalist. That same year, 2014, she was also a semifinalist at the Australian Open and Roland Garros and was ranked at No.5 in the world.
Today, she’s sitting at No.285 and has won only two main-draw matches this year. Her last tournament before Madrid was the ITF $100,000 in Portugal, where she lost her second match.
How does Bouchard process the semi-scuffling player she is today versus the breathless, incandescent kid who captivated so many?
“That’s a great question,” she said. “It’s hard to reconcile these two — it’s almost like two different careers. It feels long and not long at the same time. That still feels like me, but sometimes I’m like ‘Oh, my God, that was…