Williams, not Bouchard, top draw at Rogers Cup

This year, she has lost 12 of her last 14 matches over WTA Tour and Fed Cup play. “That, plus the rest of the top field, is a dream for us”. She appears to have lost weight and muscle tone – good for an aspiring model, but not for an elite athlete.

“I have the belief and I know my skills are still there and nothing can just vanish…”

“I just feel like I haven’t been quite myself, my confident, aggressive game lately”, Bouchard said in Toronto on Friday.

Do you think Eugenie Bouchard waited too long to fire coach Sam Sumyk?

Bouchard should be back in action despite withdrawing from last week’s Citi Open in Washington with an abdominal injury, with the 21-year-old Canadian claiming she has been “healing well” and is keen to get “back to competition”.

Sixteen of the world’s top 17 female players will compete at the WTA Premier event but Williams has form on her side, as she will return to Toronto having won her past 11 straight matches in Canada’s largest city after claiming the rotating tournament’s trophy in 2011 and 2013.

“I just have to always make sure I start strong and not underestimate anyone and just be ready to go from the beginning”, Williams said. Bouchard is still young enough to get things turned around – bet Rogers Cup organizers would love for that to happen next week – but it remains to be seen if she takes her standing as a tennis player, rather than a celebrity/model, seriously enough to fight for it.

Bouchard is set to meet No. 22 Belinda Bencic from Switzerland.

“But, yeah, there definitely has to be some improvement, some changes, because I expect to do a little better than this”, she said to reporters. Hale said ticket sales are up 10 per cent from 2013.

“When I was looking for a coach, I wanted someone who’s played or who’s been coaching someone who’d been there, getting to No 1 or winning grand slams, and he’s done that”, the Canadian said.

Bouchard made the Wimbledon final in 2014 but has struggled since the Rogers Cup a year ago, when she lost in the first round in Montreal to Shelby Rogers.

“I must have learned a lot because I’ve lost a lot this year”, Bouchard joked. “Itwas my first tournament since I made the Wimbledon finals”.