Eugenie Bouchard Burns Bridges On Ascent To Tennis Fame: Declares She Is ‘Not Friends’ With Maria Sharapova and Laura Robson, But Will She Keep Boyfriend Alex Balchenyuk?

Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard may be the new "It" girl in tennis, but she definitely doesn't take the congeniality title with her! During the French Open and Wimbledon 2014, she has been swearing off friendship with her fellow tennis players like Maria Sharapova and Laura Robson. Does this mean that her relationship with boyfriend Balchenyuk is also on the line?

Either Eugenie Bouchard wants to carve out a space for herself in tennis history, or she is being a little too confident on her ascent to tennis fame. The 20-year-old Canadian tennis player got a lot of attention leading up to her Wimbledon 2014 finals. Throughout the press conferences, she exuded confidence and a little bit of that young-player cockiness.

"I totally feel like I belong, and I'm just so excited for the next match," Bouchard said to the press.

She lost in straight sets to Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, who only took 55 minutes to totally crush Eugenie Bouchard in 6-3, 6-0. Looks like Eugenie Bouchard need to take a step back and re-access her strategy for her game.

But her run at this year's Wimbledon definitely set her on a path towards stardom. She began her Wimbledon games with an endorsement deal with Coca-Cola. It definitely looks like the affectionately called "Genie Army", a dedicated group of PR agents, medics and coaches, is trying to push the Canadian darling towards the path of Maria Sharapova, the highest-earning female athlete in the world.

Forbes estimated that Sharapova earned "£17m last year, of which £13.5m came from off-court deals". Many people say that her financial success all draws from her Wimbledon win at age 17. Sharapova's agent, Max Eisenbud said that "Everything she has is because of that win at Wimbledon".

Though money may not be the motivating factor, Eugenie Bouchard is thirsting for that kind of Maria Sharapova success. But she has to watch out that she is not burning too many bridges on her path to famedom. Recently, she has been quoted many times for declaring that she is "not friends" with her fellow tennis players on tour.

About Maria Sharapova, she said, "We're not friends, so there is that. Of course as a child I looked up to her [...] We're in the semis of a Grand Slam [French Open], so I'm going to respect her but not put her too high on a pedestal and really just battle."

Bouchard also spoke of her falling out with bestie Laura Robson, UK's current number one in women's singles. When asked during a press conference if she was still "still pretty good mates" with Laura Robson, Bouchard said: "No, I don't think so [...] I'm sure you guys can figure out that one."

Many speculated that their falling out is due to their shared coach, Nick Saviano.

The Canadian tennis player wants to make clear that she is not following in anyone's footsteps. "I'm not the new anyone," she has said. "I'm the first me, and I want to make my own history."

Let's hope that she doesn't swear off any more friendships and that her boyfriend Alex Balchenyuk is not on the next chopping block! It can get very lonely at the top.

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Eugenie Bouchard
Wimbledon 2014
Maria Sharapova
Laura Robson
Boyfriend
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