When Eugenie Bouchard Beat Maria Sharapova After Calling Her A Cheater

There are only a few matches in tennis history where the emotional quotient has been as high as was in the epic battle between Eugenie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova at the Madrid Open of 2017.

Obviously, fans were excited to see this clash of generations. However, the bigger selling point of the match was the bitter off-court rivalry that had developed between the two stars. Maria was just returning from her infamous doping ban.

However, she was continuously receiving wild cards at tournaments despite any performance proof in the recent past. This was rubbing many of the other girls the wrong way as they felt she was being handed easy opportunities. While there were murmurings in the tennis circle, Eugenie Bouchard had been the harshest critic yet.

Eugenie had gone on to call Maria a cheater.

“She is a cheater and so, to me, I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again. It’s so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way.”

That’s why when they finally met for battle, fans wanted to see if Bouchard could actually prove her statements on the court.

WATCH – Eugenie Bouchard Finds Roger Federer Everywhere In Switzerland

Eugenie Bouchard beats Maria Sharapova

The first set showed that neither player was ready to go down without a fight. It went down to the final moments which Bouchard snatched after some good and attacking tennis. She sealed the deal with an unreachable crosscourt forehand after fending off several attempts by Sharapova.

In the second set, Maria came off like she just couldn’t lose to Eugenie Bouchard. She broke the Canadian twice to claim the set 6-2. Bouchard did her fair share of mistakes by committing a double fault at a crucial point.

It all came down to a mouth-watering third set and it began with a controversy. Bouchard was pressuring Maria on her serve and hit a powerful backhand that seemingly gave her the game there. However, the umpire stepped down from his seat to review the mark left by the ball on the clay court.

He concluded that the ball had landed just beyond the baseline. Bouchard showed no signs of disappointment even as the crowd booed the decision. However, as things would go, Bouchard would go to win as the final scoreline read 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in her favour.

An obviously ecstatic Bouchard jumped up and down the court. Her post-match statements reflected that the match hadn’t made her any more fond of Maria Sharapova –

“Some girls in the locker room are coming up to me and really wishing me good luck before matches, which doesn’t normally happen to me,” Bouchard said. “It showed me that most people have my opinion, and they were just maybe scared to speak out. But privately, you know, I’ve gotten a lot of support.”

“It definitely helps when you can back it up,” Bouchard said, beaming a smile. “Obviously, there was a lot going on in this match beside tennis itself.”

How did Maria Sharapova react? 

Sharapova wasn’t too keen to talk about the controversy. In fact, she focused just on the tennis part of the equation.

“Every match at this point is important,” Sharapova said. “Everything that surrounds myself, I don’t know a lot of it and don’t pay attention to much of it.”

“I set up opportunities, breakpoints, and I just didn’t convert them today,” she said of the final set. “I got myself in a position to finish, and I didn’t.”

We hope that Eugenie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova have been able to put their differences behind now that the Russian star has retired after a string of poor performances in the recent time period.