Musicians call it the difficult second album. For Eugenie Bouchard, last year’s Wimbledon finalist, the equivalent is second-season syndrome, or the sophomore slump – the affliction whereby players struggle to emulate a breakthrough year.
The No12 seed went into battle with the Chinese qualifier Duan Ying-ying short on confidence, having lost 11 of her previous 13 matches, and injured with a torn muscle in her abdomen. Against that backdrop, a theoretically amenable start to Wimbledon seemed a blessing. But after an hour and a half on No3 court, another disastrous defeat, 7-6, 6-4, and the end of her Wimbledon, the blessing became a curse.