One of the more notable moments from the Australian Open on the women’s side came after the quarterfinal match between Maria Sharapova and Eugenie Bouchard.
Sharapova romped in the match 6-3, 6-2 to remind the 20-year-old that she still has some work to do. Sharapova was ecstatic to be advancing to the semifinals, so she celebrated boisterously. Bouchard was down on herself for the straight-set loss and couldn’t really be bothered to give Sharapova a warm handshake, as you can see.
Another interesting aspect of the handshake to consider is that Bouchard is considered “the next Sharapova” in terms of ability to have on-court success and global marketability. There is little doubt that added to Bouchard’s disappointment following her poor performance.
Check out the photo to get an idea of how unenthusiastic Bouchard was:
Worst handshake of the day: @geniebouchard and @MariaSharapova. #WTA #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/g76u6titsE
— Tennis (@tennis_photos) January 27, 2015
Is there some tension there? There has to be. Plus you also have to recognize that this is a manifestation of how competitive Bouchard is and how much losing kills her.
As for Sharapova, she isn’t about to put herself above Bouchard in terms of status. She said after the match that Bouchard is doing so well in her career that she doesn’t need advice from the Russian.
