Five things you need to know about Eugenie Bouchard

Eugenie Bouchard always had the potential, but the 19-year-old realised it this year at the Australian Open, reaching the semifinals in her first outing in Melbourne by beating Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. As Genie-fever grips Australia, here are five interesting things you need to know about the rising star. - Bouchard is the first woman to reach the Australian Open semis on debut in 23 years since Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario and Monica Seles in 1991. She is also the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam semifinal in 30 years after a stunning upset of Ivanovic. The last Canadian to go to the semis at a major was Toronto’s Carling Bassett at the 1984 US Open. [caption id=“attachment_1351131” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Bouchard after winning her match against Ivanovic. AP[/caption] - If England’s cricket team has the Barmy Army and Manchester United the Red Army, Bouchard has the ‘Genie Army’. In fact, her Twitter account is @geniebouchard and she recently tweeted this out: https://twitter.com/geniebouchard/status/425060266997317633 - All the four Bouchard kids took up tennis but only Eugenie made a career out of it. At No 31, she is the highest ranked teenager on the circuit and has won the girls singles and doubles title at Wimbledon 2012. She is the first Canadian to ever win a junior or professional Grand Slam title. - Bouchard was so upset after beating best friend Laura Robson at the Family Circle Cup that she said she won’t make any more friends from the tennis world. Bouchard and her mother also lived at the Robsons’ during Wimbledon last year. - Bouchard and Robson make a whacky pair. They made a video in China doing the Gangnam Style from their hotel rooms to the crowded streets and the Great Wall of China. It also features Maria Sharapova, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Verdasco, Samantha Stosur and Heather Watson. Enjoy the video: