China's Duan Yingying beats Bouchard in a recent Wimbledon match. (Photo : REUTERS)
Last year's Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard bowed out of the competition way early in the tournament, failing to get past Chinese qualifier Duan Ying-ying, 7-6 (3), 6-4.
By all indications, Bouchard's less-than impressive showing at The Championships a year after a breakout performance has been described as her "sophomore slump," according to The Guardian.
Coming into the match losing 11 of her last 13 outings, and suffering from a torn muscle in her abdomen, the Canadian appeared to be lacking in confidence as she stepped into the court.
Later in an interview with reporters, Bouchard admitted that her preparations going into the tournament were not enough, saying she ignored advice to skip The Championships given her status.
"I was under-prepared for this match," she said. "But this is Wimbledon. There is no way I wasn't going to play, even though I was advised not to. It is the way I am. I am disappointed because I lost, so it was not the smartest decision, but I knew I had to do it.
"It is not nice feeling under-prepared," she continued. "I only served 10 serves before this match. My timing was very off. I said that I would go out there on one leg, so I had to be true to my word."
At the onset of the match, Bouchard looked like out of her element with most of the shots she launched were either long or wide, as the Canadian groped for form.
Duan, the Chinese qualifier, made the most of the 12th seed's miscues, grabbing serve in the sixth game. Bouchard managed to even the set at 4, but Duan roared back and brought her opponent back in disarray.
Duan, who is fifth in China's rankings, later showed flashes of brilliance as she dominated the tiebreak.
At the start of the second set, Bouchard appeared to have recovered from her sub-par performance, but Duan took control of the set when she broke off the tiebreak at 4-all.
Asked if she considered changing coaches one more time, a year after getting rid of her long-time mentor Nick Saviano, Bouchard said that thought has crossed her mind.
"Maybe I should," Bouchard said of Sam Sumyk, who used to coach Victoria Azarenka. "We have definitely not started well at all. I believe in him and him in me. But we definitely need to have some improvements."
