Don't want to be stuck in past: Eugenie Bouchard

MELBOURNE: Two years ago, the news of

Eugenie Bouchard

playing filled the stands to the full. Now it's different.

For two consecutive rounds here at the

Australian Open

, the Canadian blonde has seen a few empty seats at the stadium because Roger Federer was playing on a different court at the same time. “I missed him. It's a pity,“ the 21-year-old tried to put a positive spin after her second round 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Chinese Shuai Peng.

Bouchard had a breakout year in 2014 when she reached the semifinals of the Australian and US Open and the final of Wimbledon. But the two years that followed were extremely difficult. Her earnest effort to engage with her fans was reciprocated with alleged death threats from some of her aggressive followers; the new found stardom and the pouring in of endorsement deals resulted in dressing-room envy; and it all reached a climax when she had a concussion from a fall at the US Open in 2015. She followed it up with a law suit against the organisers, which is yet to be settled.

Bouchard is currently ranked 47 on the WTA charts. It would have been seen as an achievement if it had been any other player. But she had been No. 5 before, and that's given ample fodder to her critics.The agrument: she focused on marketing herself and ignored her

tennis

.

But Bouchard seems to have made the turnaround as she reached the semifinals in Sydney earlier this month. “I am try ing to do my best, trying to be a better player. Everyone improves.“