WATCH ABOVE: The Rogers Cup kicked off and in the mostly Canadian crowd of tennis fans is a small group of Australians who flew halfway around the world to cheer on Canadian Eugenie Bouchard. Global’s Rachel Lau meets “Genie’s Army.”
MONTREAL – Eugenie Bouchard wowed the world in Wimbledon recently, coming off a second place finish and to become one of Canada’s fastest rising tennis stars.
“Genie is the whole package,” said Louis-Philippe Dorais, a spokesperson for Tennis Canada.
“She presents herself well, she’s aggressive and she’s a fun player to watch on the court.”
READ MORE: Rogers Cup opens in Montreal
Now, she’s hoping to take the gold on home turf at the Rogers Cup.
“It’s all in her attitude,” explained Dorais.
“She’s very strong mentally, and in her own mind the sky’s the limit. So I think that really sets the bar as far as expectations can be for her.”
Bouchard’s quickly growing success has attracted fans from around the world.
Most notably, the Official Genie Army, who were avidly watching as Bouchard practised with her coach on Saturday.
The “Army” just landed in Montreal after a 30-hour flight from Melbourne, Australia.
“Being here in Genie’s home town, it’s going to be a great week and we’re just so pumped for it,” said Sarah Biviano, a member of the Genie Army.
“We can’t wait.”
Watch: Eugenie Bouchard out and about in Montreal
The army is so dedicated to Bouchard that they paid their own way to Montreal. What’s even more incredible is they don’t have any personal connection to her at all.
“It wasn’t like we were looking for a Canadian,” said Jacob Wright, another member of the Genie Army told Global News.
“We all like the way she plays tennis,” agreed Ryan Gibb, who is also a member of the army.
READ MORE: Eugenie Bouchard loses women’s Wimbledon final to Petra Kvitova
Bouchard defied all odds and is now ranked number seven in the world.
She’s entering the tournament as a fifth seeder.
“In 2007, you’d tell me our objective was to have a player in the top 50 on the men’s side, a player in the top 50 on the women’s side, I would have said ‘oh that’s a stretch, that’s really difficult to have,'” said Dorais.
“But sure enough, we have two in the top ten.”
Despite her talents, Bouchard’s Aussie devotees say she has some tough competition ahead of her.
“No matter who you play in these tournaments, you have to be at 100 per cent,” said Gibb.
“Otherwise, anybody can beat you any day.”
READ MORE: Raonic, Bouchard reach career high rankings
The army insists they’re going to cheer for her like crazy, as if she was one of their own.
“To see Genie, it’s going to be crazy,” said Jacob Couroyannis, a member of the Genie Army.
“It’s going to be awesome.”
The Westmount native is expected to play her first match in the Rogers Cup early next week.
She’ll face off against the winner of the qualifying rounds.
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