Reconnecting with her former coach Nick Saviano and disconnecting from her beloved Instagram have helped inspire Genie Bouchard's Rome surge.
The former Wimbledon finalist backed up her opening-round victory over former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic fighting past world No. 2 Angelique Kerber, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5, to reach the Rome round of 16 today.
More: Bouchard Scores Biggest Career Win In Rome
It was Bouchard's first career win over a Top 2-ranked player and propels her into a meeting with 36th-ranked Czech Barbora Strycova.
Bouchard says reuniting with coach Saviano has been rewarding.
The former ATP pro coached the Canadian to the best season of her career in 2014 when she made the semifinals of the Australian Open and Roland Garros, became the first Canadian in history to reach a Grand Slam final at Wimbledon and reached a career-high rank of No. 5. Bouchard parted with coach Thomas Hogstedt earlier this spring and reunited with Saviano.
"I have that comfort factor with him. I have known him since I was 12," Bouchard said of Saviano. "He knows me so well as a person and as a player. I like his mentality, and I like how he sees the game of tennis and how he sees my game in it.
"I think I'm on the right path with him. You know, we kind of started again where we left off, so it was very easy to get back into it."
It hasn't been nearly as easy for the world No. 46 to endure a week without Instagram. Bouchard lost her cell phone forcing a social media detox.
"I think these days it's all about social media, you know. I think it's cool to be able to interact directly with fans. That's what I use the most," Bouchard said. "I haven't been able to go on Instagram in like a week because I lost my phone, and if you try to log on a friend's phone or a computer, it sends a verification code to your phone number which I don't have. So it's been a cleansing detox."
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A video posted by Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) on
"I literally have not been on Instagram in a week, so you can imagine, as a 22-year-old, how tough that is," Bouchard said. "Not having my phone is just like unbelievable.
"I think it's supposed to arrive today, though, when I go back to the hotel. Please cross your fingers for me. Hopefully it's there. I will be posting lots of selfies as soon as I get it. No, I'm kidding. Well, I'm not kidding, but..."
Photo credit: Christopher Levy