Given Australia’s lack of successful female players, the crowds here at the Australian Open have been adopting overseas talent for several years now. Kim Clijsters and Ana Ivanovic have been known as “Aussie Kim” and “Aussie Ana”, courtesy of their Australian boyfriends, and the Melbourne public have a new darling this year.
A growing group of supporters who call themselves the “Genie Army” have rallied behind Eugenie Bouchard, who rewarded them by winning a place in the semi-finals. The 19-year-old Canadian did it, moreover, at the expense of Ivanovic, winning 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 just 48 hours after the former French Open champion had created the shock of the tournament by knocking out Serena Williams.
The rise of Bouchard, who is a good friend of Laura Robson and shares the British No 1’s coach in Florida, has been a spectacular one. At the end of last year she was named newcomer of 2013 on the women’s tour, though her talent had been apparent previously at the Wimbledon junior tournament, where she won the girls’ doubles in 2011 and the doubles and singles in 2012.
Bouchard started last year ranked No 147 in the world and lost in the second round of qualifying here. On her debut in the main draw she has become the first Canadian to reach the semi-finals at the year’s opening Grand Slam event, an achievement which will lift her from No 31 in the world rankings and into the top 20. She is the first Canadian woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Carling Bassett made the last four at the 1984 US Open.
A bold shot-maker who likes to take the ball early, Bouchard is not short on confidence. Asked if she was prepared for all the attention her achievements here have attracted, she said: “It’s not a huge surprise to me because I always believe in my skills. It’s not really sudden or anything like that. I just want to keep going.”
Tall, blonde and glamorous, Bouchard was an obvious contender for the crowd here to adopt. The Genie Army have taken to giving her a present of a toy animal at every match. “I have a koala, a kangaroo, a kookaburra and a wombat,” she said with a smile after her latest victory. “I will create luggage space. It’s worth it to take my wombat home.”
She added: “They’ve been supporting me from my first match. I was out on Court 15 for my first round. They were there with their T-shirts and everything.
“They’ve been a really good support team. They’re great. They come up with these songs. I’m going to fly them to all my tournaments with me.”
In Thursday’s semi-finals Bouchard will take on 31-year-old Li Na, who maintained her excellent record here by beating Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-2. Li has finished runner-up here twice, to Clijsters in 2011 and to Victoria Azarenka last year.
Australian Open 2014: The best images from Melbourne
Australian Open 2014: The best images from Melbourne
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1/75 24 January 2014
Dominika Cibulkova pictured ahead of the Australian Open final
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2/75 24 January 2014
Roger Federer talks to the press following his semi-final defeat to Nadal
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3/75 24 January 2014
Rafael Nadal grimaces at his hand during his semi-final win over Federer
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Federer pictured during his semi-final defeat to Nadal
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Nadal pictured during his semi-final with Federer
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6/75 24 January 2014
Rafael Nadal celebrates his victory over Federer
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7/75 23 January 2014
Roger Federer of Switzerland trains in a practice session as his coach, Stefan Edberg watches
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8/75 23 January 2014
Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates beating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their semi-final meeting
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9/75 23 January 2014
Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic pictured in his semi-final defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland
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10/75 23 January 2014
Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland pictured during his victory over Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their semi-final meeting
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11/75 23 January 2014
Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland pictured during his victory over Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their semi-final meeting
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Winner Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia (L) applauds as her opponent Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland (C) leaves after their women's singles semi-final match
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13/75 23 January 2014
Dominika Cibulkova celebrates after beating Agnieszka Radwanska to progress to the Australian Open final
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14/75 23 January 2014
Na Li of China hands a ballboy a towel in her semifinal match against Eugenie Bouchard
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15/75 23 January 2014
Winner Li Na of China (L) shakes hands with Eugenie Bouchard of Canada after their women's singles semi-final match
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16/75 23 January 2014
Eugenie Bouchard of Canada is silhouetted on the court during her loss to Li Na of China in their women's singles semi-final match
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17/75 22 January 2014
Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher tests his tennis skills in Melbourne
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18/75 22 January 2014
Andy Murray pictured during his defeat to Roger Federer
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19/75 22 January 2014
Roger Federer strikes a forehand during his match against Andy Murray
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20/75 22 January 2014
Fans of Roger Federer watch on during his quarter-final with Andy Murray
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21/75 22 January 2014
Andy Murray shows his frustration in the quarter-final against Roger Federer
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22/75 22 January 2014
Rafael Nadal of Spain pictured during his quarter-final match against Grigor Dimitrov
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23/75 22 January 2014
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates winning his quarter-final match against Grigor Dimitrov
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24/75 22 January 2014
Belarus's Victoria Azarenka (L) walks on court during her women's singles match against Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska
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25/75 22 January 2014
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova celebrates after victory in her women's singles quarter-final against Romania's Simona Halep
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26/75 22 January 2014
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova celebrates after victory in her women's singles quarter-final against Romania's Simona Halep
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27/75 21 January 2014
Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts during his men's singles match against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka on day nine
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28/75 21 January 2014
Novak Djokovic of Serbia gets changed in his quarter-final defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka
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29/75 21 January 2014
Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland sits down during a rain delay in his quarter-final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia
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30/75 21 January 2014
Ana Ivanovic of Serbia speaks to the umpire during her quarter-final defeat to Eugenie Bouchard of Canada
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31/75 21 January 2014
Eugenie Bouchard in action during her Australian Open quarter-final victory over Ana Ivanovic
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32/75 21 January 2014
Ana Ivanovic of Serbia reacts to a point to Eugenie Bouchard of Canada during her defeat at the quarter-final stage
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33/75 21 January 2014
Na Li of China is interview on court after winning her quarterfinal match against Flavia Pennetta
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34/75 21 January 2014
Czech tennis star Tomas Berdych beat third seed David Ferrer to move into the Australian Open semi-finals
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35/75 20 January 2014
Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a forehand in his fourth round win against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
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36/75 20 January 2014
Andy Murray celebrates his Australian Open victory over Stephane Robert
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37/75 20 January 2014
Andy Murray gives away his racket which he broke during his victory over Stephane Robert
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38/75 20 January 2014
Rafael Nadal progressed to the Australian Open quarter-finals with victory over Kei Nishikori
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39/75 20 January 2014
Maria Sharapova crashed out of the Australian Open in a shock loss to Dominika Cibulkova
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40/75 20 January 2014
Victoria Azarenka breezes past Sloane Stephens in the Australian Open fourth round
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41/75 19 January 2014
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42/75 19 January 2014
Serena Williams reacts during her defeat by Ana Ivanovic at the Australia Open on Sunday
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43/75 18 January 2014
Comedian Jimmy Carr celebrates the victory of Andy Murray of Great Britain over Feliciano Lopez of Spain
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44/75 18 January 2014
Andy Murray of Great Britain signs autographs after winning his third round match against Feliciano Lopez of Spain
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45/75 18 January 2014
Andy Murray of Britain changes his shirt during a break in his match against Feliciano Lopez of Spain
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46/75 17 January 2014
Officials dry the court after a rain delay stopped play during the third round match between Samantha Stosur of Australia and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia
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47/75 17 January 2014
Novak Djokovic of Serbia serves in his third round match against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan
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48/75 17 January 2014
Serbia's Ana Ivanovic reacts after victory in her women's singles match against Australia's Samantha Stosur on day five of the 2014 Australian Open
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49/75 17 January 2014
Dustin Brown of Germany in action in his first round doubles match with Gael Monfils of France against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain
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50/75 17 January 2014
Na Li of China serves in her third round match against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic
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51/75 17 January 2014
An Australian fan watches on during the third round match between Casey Dellacqua of Australia and Jie Zheng of China
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52/75 17 January 2014
Serena Williams celebrates her third round victory over Daniela Hantuchova at the Australian Open
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53/75 16 January 2014
Lightning strikes over Melbourne Park during a first round doubles match
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54/75 16 January 2014
The courts at the Australian Open are so hot that you can boil an egg on the surface
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55/75 16 January 2014
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus plays a forehand in her second round victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic
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56/75 16 January 2014
Maria Sharapova calls for clarity over the extreme heat ruling that saw play at the Australian Open suspended
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57/75 16 January 2014
Sharapova celebrates her victory over Karin Knapp in the Australian Open second round
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58/75 16 January 2014
Jamie Murray (L) suffered from heat stroke following his victory with doubles partner John Peers (R) over Matt Reid and Luke Saville at the Australian Open
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59/75 16 January 2014
Rafael Nadal celebrates his second round victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open
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60/75 15 January 2014
Ross Hutchins (R) and Colin Fleming (L) progressed to the second round of the Australian Open on the former's return to Grand Slam action after his battle with cancer
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61/75 15 January 2014
Serena Williams progressed to the third round of the Australian Open via a 6-1 6-2 victory over Vesna Dolonc
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62/75 15 January 2014
Novak Djokovic celebrates his second round victory over Leonardo Mayer
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63/75 15 January 2014
Stanislas Wawrinka, who has no connection to a betting investigation taking place in Melbourne, walks out onto court at the Australian Open
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64/75 14 January 2014
A ballboy faints in the heat, as Melbourne heads towards 43 degrees celsius during day two of the 2014 Australian Open
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65/75 14 January 2014
Spain's Rafael Nadal (L) comforts Australia's Bernard Tomic after his retirement from their men's singles match on day two
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66/75 14 January 2014
Andy Murray celebrates his straight-sets victory over Go Soeda in the first round of the Australian Open
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67/75 14 January 2014
Roger Federer eases into the second round of the Australian Open via a 6-4 6-4 6-2 victory over Australian wildcard James Duckworth
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68/75 14 January 2014
Defending Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka comes through in straight-sets against Johanna Larsson to move into the second round
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69/75 13 January 2014
Laura Robson of Great Britain leaves the court after losing her first round match against Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium
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70/75 13 January 2014
A general view of Showcourt 2 during the first round match between Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and Heather Watson
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Heather Watson of Great Britain wipes her face in her first round defeat against Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia
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72/75 13 January 2014
Novak Djokovic celebrates a point in his first round victory against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia
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73/75 13 January 2014
Stefan Edberg was the centre of attention on Monday at the Australian Open as he returned to court in a coaching role with Roger Federer
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74/75 12 January 2014
Andy Murray takes a much-needed drinks break during training at Melbourne Park
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75/75 11 January 2014
Defending champion Novak Djokovic shows off his trophy before the tournament gets underway
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