Eugenie Bouchard Cites Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams’ Examples to Explain Why It’s Difficult to Remain Consistent in Grand Slams

Novak Djokovic lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final after knocking out Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

Eugenie Bouchard Cites Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams’ Examples to Explain Why It’s Difficult to Remain Consistent in Grand Slams

L-R: Novak Djokovic, Eugenie Bouchard, Serena Williams (Image via X/TNT Sports, NotLike, Tennis Canada)

In Short
  • Eugenie Bouchard highlights the pressure of expectations after reaching a Grand Slam final, noting her struggles since then.
  • She cites Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams as examples of players who consistently win Grand Slam titles.
  • Bouchard has not re-watched her 2014 Wimbledon final loss, finding it too painful to revisit.

Novak Djokovic, although he has reached the twilight of his career, is still entering Grand Slam tournaments as one of the favorites to win. At the Australian Open this year, he made the final after knocking out two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner.

On the women’s tour, rumors of Serena Williams‘ possible comeback have been spreading a lot. She has entered the testing pool of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and has been taking the GLP-1 drug to lose weight. In a recent interview, she avoided answering whether she will indeed be making her comeback. If she returns to the tour, she will be eligible to compete from February 22.

Williams was one of the few players who were always expected to win Grand Slam tournaments, and so was Djokovic. But Eugenie Bouchard, who lost the 2014 Wimbledon final to Petra Kvitova, talked about the weight of expectation after that defeat, also revealing that she has never re-watched that final.

I still to this day have not re-watched the finals because I just can’t. It’s like too painful for me. I got killed, which maybe is a blessing in disguise, because you know when you come so close to winning a match, and then you lose it, and you replay it over and over in your head, what you could have done better on, like a break point or a match point.

Eugenie Bouchard said on The Tennis Insider Club podcast

After that Wimbledon final, she had made just one quarterfinal, at the 2015 Australian Open. The 31-year-old called time on her career last year and currently plays pickleball.

I made a Grand Slam final, and then many people were like, that means you’re gonna win one next year, obviously, right? Like, the only people who consistently do that are literally the ones we call the greatest of all time. And it’s like, literally Serena or Djokovic or whoever.

Eugenie Bouchard added

Djokovic, in the Australian Open final, lost in four sets to Carlos Alcaraz, with the win making the Spaniard the youngest man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam. The win also helped the 22-year-old improve his head-to-head record over the Serb to 5-5.

Kristof Vliegen thinks Novak Djokovic has a chance to win at Wimbledon

Many think Novak Djokovic doesn’t have many chances to win another Grand Slam title. But as he made the Australian Open final, he will be entering the remaining three Majors as one of the favorites to win, but not at the French Open, believes former player Kristof Vliegen.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Image via X/Lacoste)

During his interview with TSH Tennis, Vliegen said it would be a huge task for Djokovic to beat both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz en route to the Roland Garros title, where he last won in 2023 by defeating Casper Ruud.

So, imagine he beats Sinner in the semifinals, he is not going to beat them in two hours and five minutes. He is not going to be fresh on Sunday, I’m sorry. It’s going to take a while to beat them. So is he able to do that against them in Paris? I don’t think so. Do I think that he has something to do at Wimbledon? I would not be surprised if at Wimbledon he is going to be closer than the others.

The last time Djokovic won at Wimbledon was in 2022 against Nick Kyrgios. In the next two seasons, he lost to Alcaraz in the finals.

In Melbourne this year, Djokovic in fact made a Major final for the first time since the 2024 Wimbledon. He last won a title at this level at the 2023 US Open.

Also read: Carlos Alcaraz Reacts to Potential Clash with Jannik Sinner in the Final of the Qatar Open