Meet Eugenie Bouchard, the latest tennis sensation

London: Eugenie Bouchard is the fast rising star of the women's game, that the 20 year-old Canadian laughs quite a lot .Yet when the conversation comes to tennis it is strictly business for Bouchard, whose has enjoyed a rapid ascent from junior Wimbledon champion just two years ago to two Grand Slam semi-finals this year and the fringes of the world's top ten.She says she is a perfectionist who wants to make it to the top as quickly as possible with a game based on taking the ball early, sharp tactical acumen and a natural inclination to fight to the very last point.Within tennis the comparisons to Maria Sharapova have become so widespread. It is less to do with their striking looks than them sharing a ferocious competitive spirit, and she is in the vanguard of an emerging generation of challengers to the established order.Another thing they have in common is the ability to compartmentalise their lives. For Bouchard this means dividing off time when she can live like any other twenty year-old and escape from her status as the most sought-after player on the WTA Tour, one who has already attracted a worldwide fan base known as the "Genie Army".After reaching the semi-finals of the French Open in Paris, she simply flew off to visit some friends in Switzerland.'I went to near Lausanne. I just went to get a whole different scene,' she says. 'Sometimes you just want to get away and be normal for a few days. It's a treat to travel without your racket bag.'What usually happens is that within a few days, suitably refreshed, she is ‘itching' to get back onto the practice court.She is plainly driven, very articulate and talks in brisk, slightly clipped tones as she considers what has brought her to the point where she appears to have the world on the tip of her racket. She has travelled a long way from the predominantly English-speaking Montreal suburb of West Mount.'Even when I was much younger whatever I did I wanted to do it to the best of my abilities. When I came home from school I would be the one doing my homework while my siblings would be watching TV and putting it off until later. I was always very determined, and to excel at this sport you have to be really disciplined and motivated. I guess I'm just like that.'Both my parents were athletic, they did recreational sports. My mum was at the WTA tournament in Montreal and she remembers watching Mary Pierce and thinking "why do my kids have to be figure skaters or skiers?"'So Beatrice and I went to tennis groups aged five and we'd spend most of the time just doing games and only get to hit tennis balls at the end of it for ten minutes. I hated the stuff with balloons, I just wanted to hit balls. I asked my parents if I could play more so they put me in groups where there was more actual tennis and it went from there.'I travelled to Europe for the first time at 9 to a 12 and under tournament. I found it incredibly exciting, I knew I wanted to do this. I know nine is very young to decide what you want to do in life but that is pretty much when I decided.'She bursts out laughing again: 'Meanwhile my twin retired at age six. We are very close but opposite in many ways. I never needed to be pushed.'It is also clear that Bouchard is, like a surprising number of high achieving tennis players, formidably smart: 'I loved school. I would have to miss it for tennis and then I would start to do it online. I loved maths and science, maybe I would have ended up a doctor.'When I was 12 I went to go and train in Florida so I stopped doing regular school, doing it online was tough to motivate yourself and it almost felt like you were doing two full time jobs I learned from it. Who knows, I might go back to college when I'm 30.'The steeliness to her character is evident, and while few outside observers believed she would progress so rapidly from 2012 onwards, she sounds like she expected it. 'To me it doesn't seem so drastic because I'm always trying to get better. We have a short career, it's not like you can let the years go by and wait for things to happen. It's a small window of opportunity so it seems completely normal.'2013 was when I first played full time on the professional circuit and I really saw what it was like week in week out, what the top players in the world were like, how tough it was having to battle every single match. 'I realised how mental the sport is and I think playing so many matches and tournaments helped me improve mentally and toughen up. I've never really focused on my ranking per se because it's out of my control. I try and do the right thing each week and the ranking will look after itself.'Another thing she quickly figured out was that it was going to be difficult to have intimate friends on the circuit – Laura Robson was among those she was close to when younger – and it drew a lot of attention in Paris when she bluntly spoke of life in the locker room not being a popularity contest.'I feel like it's my job and my profession, I'm a bit surprised I get asked about this. I wonder why I get asked about it and if the men are asked the same question. I'm friendly with everyone, probably more with the English speaking players, but I wouldn't say I'm really good friends with anyone or best friends with anyone because to me it's tough to have true friend and then go out and play against them.I want to win so much that I don't want to have any distraction in the way. I have my team around me, we hang out and I've got friends at home, friends around the world outside of tennis.'If you're playing someone you care about it's tough and I don't want to be in that situation. We are playing big matches for big points and prize money and I take it very seriously. I relax when I'm outside tennis.'This involves trying to sightsee wherever she goes, going shopping and to the cinema. It is getting much harder to be while going unrecognised or having requests thrown at her, but there is a happy acceptance of all that, at least for now.'I knew what I signed up for with my tennis. It's a good sign if people want to talk to you off court, it's part of the job. I learn from each photo shoot and interview. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, I try to do my best.'You can see Wimbledon being another Grand Slam in which she excels, as the grass should suit her game, which she demonstrated in 2012. There may also be the strange sight of furry animals being lobbed onto the lawns of SW19, which has become something of a trademark this year thanks to her "Genie Army".She explains its origins: 'I showed up in Australia, I was on court 15 which is the most remote court there, I walk on and start hearing this screaming and singing. They have these songs about me, they are basically students and decided to create this army. 'I got to the semis and every time they were there they were at my matches and started this tradition of throwing stuffed animals on the court. I've collected them, I probably have about 70 of them now. 'Most cities there's a franchise of the Genie Army and they seem to speak to each other through social media. It feels so special. The only problem is my bags are always overweight with these animals.'At Wimbledon she is also looking forward to seeing her extended family. 'They are from Cork, some are coming to watch me at Wimbledon so hopefully I can get to meet them.'Will it be another Slam where the new generation, which also includes Simona Halep and Spain's Garbine Muguruza, make up more ground on the established hierarchy led by Serena Williams?'I think it's a normal evolution. It's great because it's more interesting. Personally I don't feel young or that this is happening too soon, there are players who by my age had won multiple Grand Slams. So it's not like there is time to waste.'