Are you enjoying Washington?
Two days ago, we were driving back from the club to the hotel. All the roads were blocked off, and there were all these police. I was like ‘Oh my god, the President is going to drive by!’. I wanted to stay and watch but the driver was like ‘No’. I love all that stuff. I’m into politics.
On Growing up an Anglophone in Montreal:
The City of Westmount is a small English city in Montreal. Montreal and the rest of Quebec are very French. People are surprised that English is my first language because my name is Genie Bouchard and it’s a French Canadian name. English is the universal language. But I can speak French pretty well.
Into Politics?
I’m more into the American brand, because in Quebec, yeah! I’m so excited because I’m registered to vote, so whenever the next elections are, for Mayor or whatever, I’m going to vote for everything.
On winning Wimbledon:
It was a great feeling. To win my first grand slam and also to make history, it gave me more confidence.
On meeting Federer at Wimbledon:
Yeah. The best part! I talked to Roger for like five minutes. We got a picture, me and Phillip (Peliwo), who won the boys. We just expected him to come up for the picture. And he’s like, ‘What’s next? What’s your pro ranking?’. He’s asking us what we’re doing. He said, ‘When I was 18, I was 300, too’. I’m thinking, that’s a sign! We talked about his twins, because I’m a twin. I told him ‘I love your twins. You dress them up the same.’. He says ‘if you don’t dress them the same, they’re going to fight’. My mom used to do that to us. He is the nicest guy. Serena left the stage right away, but he stayed and talked to everyone.
On Being a Twin:
My twin sister thinks we have some sort of telepathic thing going on. We’re complete opposites. My mom started us both in tennis when we were five, and she quit when she was six, so we don’t have a tennis thing in common. My mom and sister were with me in Wimbledon and Granby.
On Playing Juniors:
In the pros, you’re the underdog all the time. In the juniors, there’s less pressure.
Watching any Olympics?
Actually, two nights ago, I told my coach I wasn’t going to dinner with him. I was ordering room service and I was watching the ceremonies. I love the Olympics. I watched a lot of them in Vancouver two years ago. I’m jealous. I want to be there, but being at CitiOpen’s not a bad place either.
What’s the best part of the support you’ve received from Tennis Canada?
I think the biggest thing is there’s so much funding to travel all the world and that gives us a chance to win. Tennis is an international sport, and you really need to get out of Canada. They help the most with that.
What’s it going to be like at Rogers Cup with your homecoming? Are you ready to be treated as a national celebrity?
I don’t know if I’ll be treated as a national celebrity! It’s really cool. My whole family will be there as well. I played at Jarry when I was eight years old, so it really is a home tournament.
Tennis Atlantic 