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After Fed Cup loss, what's next for Eugenie Bouchard and Françoise Abanda?

Tough moments for Genie Bouchard during Fed Cup in Montreal Sunday. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)
Tough moments for Genie Bouchard during Fed Cup in Montreal Sunday. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)

MONTREAL – First and foremost, Genie Bouchard probably needs a week on a beach with her boyfriend, nothing but the sound of the surf in her ears rather than the voices – well-meaning and otherwise – she's been hearing for months.

A few frothy concoctions with little umbrellas in them probably wouldn't hurt.

It doesn't appear as though that's the route she will take, though, after losing both her matches to lower-ranked opponents this weekend in Montreal.

Going into the World Group I playoff tie with Romania, there was no way of knowing what was going to happen for Bouchard, who has posted rather disappointing results since her surprising run to the Australian Open quarter-finals three months ago.

Fueled by home cooking and the home crowd, playing against players she was well capable of beating, she might have been able to take the opportunity to kickstart the next chunk of the season – the crucial one given her sterling results at the French Open and Wimbledon a year ago.

Or, she might have struggled just as much as she had over the winter and early spring, because there was nothing to indicate she was ready for a turnaround. It always seemed it would be one extreme or the other. And indeed it was; Unfortunately, it was the latter outcome.

The body language during Bouchard's match against Andreea Mitu Sunday was excruciating throughout.

Bouchard managed to squeeze out the first set against the world-ranked No. 104 (a career best for her), who had just won her first match ever at the WTA Tour level two weeks ago. It was Mitu's Fed Cup debut, as she substituted for the ailing Romanian No. 1 Irina-Camelia Begu, who had cramping issues during her loss Saturday to Bouchard's younger teammate Françoise Abanda.

But then, Mitu started fighting back, firing away and connecting. She pushed back, and Bouchard allowed herself to get pushed around. Just as she had in losing to another relatively underpowered opponent, American Lauren Davis, in Charleston, Bouchard said afterwards she felt as though she was on her heels, overpowered. This would have been unthinkable six months ago against anyone not named Serena, Sharapova or Kvitova.

The body language during her post-match press conference, and the tone, wasn't much better. To say the least, she didn't have a good weekend on that score.

It was one of the first times we've heard her say that maybe she should "have gotten more balls into play" instead of being so aggressive. It seems, for Bouchard, that she considers these two strategic plays as opposite extremes, though, with no middle ground. Which of course there is. But it's unfamiliar territory, and she's a long way from having the hang of when to execute either of them if she's in a situation where she has to make a choice. She knows little other than being aggressive, and her brain is fighting the notion that her entire life, it has worked for her.

At the same time, Bouchard also said that the shotmaking was forcing her to back up off the baseline. But in actual fact, she didn't back up. Over and over, she got caught on a return of serve standing right there, with the ball landing right at her feet, forcing her into an error.

It couldn't have surprised her that the shots would come in that deep; Bouchard felt she served at a decent level in her first match Saturday, the loss to Dulgheru - at least, at a better level than she has lately.

On Sunday against Mitu, that was definitely not the case. So many first serves coming in at 140 km/hour. So many second serves lobbed in under 115 km/hour. They got what they deserved.

In the end, she just looked lost. Every time she went to hit the tennis ball, it seemed she had no clear idea of what she wanted to do and in tennis, she who hesitates is lost. It's a completely understandable development given recent circumstances. But the big question is: how is she going to get it back on track? And how long might it take?

When you've basically been playing one way your entire life, it takes eons to undo that muscle memory, go through that period where the old and the new fight each other for attention in your brain, and finally get to the point where the new muscle memory becomes instinct. And that's assuming you have fully embraced the new concept, which is definitely not a given in Bouchard's case.

To do it while you're trying to compete and win tennis matches just extends that adaptation. But in her position, she can't take six months or a year off to let the process run its course.

So it's a big conundrum. Bouchard has played very little competitive tennis this year, but she also hasn't practiced all that much because various little nagging injuries have kicked in. It's like this rolling snowball, gathering steam and girth as it tumbles down the hill.

She said, in an interview with broadcast rights holder TVA Sports, that the subject of a sports psychologist to help navigate the waters had come up in her discussions with new coach Sam Sumyk. No doubt that was part of her intention to review every aspect of her career, and the job of everyone on her support team, to try to find solutions.

Bouchard didn't say whether it would happen, but she didn't discount the possibility of looking into it.

On the other side, her younger teammate Abanda may – MAY – have had a weekend that can launch a season that, so far, hasn't been noteworthy.

From a career high ranking of No. 175 back in October, Abanda is down to No. 256 and also has played relatively little tennis in 2015.

Her demeanour and competitiveness over two three-set matches against much higher-ranked over the weekend (a victory and a defeat born partly of weariness) were a revelation.

But then, Abanda (then 17) displayed some of that sense of the big occasion last summer, when she took top player Dominika Cibulkova to a third set on the big stadium court at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. And she blazed through three qualifying arounds at the U.S. Open a few weeks later to make her first Grand Slam main draw.

What didn't happen after that was a dedication to bring that competitiveness and intensity to every match she plays. There are plenty of players at her current level. And if you don't bring it against those players, you can't beat them and get your ranking to the point where you can face those bigger players on big stages on a regular basis.

After being up a set and two breaks against veteran Shahar Peer in the first round of qualifying at the Australian Open in January, Abanda eventually lost 6-3 in the third. No doubt that was experience gained, though.

Since then, in smaller events in the U.S., she has lost to American Sanaz Marand (barely inside the top 300) twice, and to Ipek Soylu in the qualifying of another smaller event. She also received wild cards into the main draw of the big Miami event (losing to Kaia Kanepi in the first round) and to to the qualifying of the Charleston tournament (losing to No. 144 Laura Siegemund in the first round).

For whatever reason, Abanda seemed unsure of her next steps. "Maybe some tournaments in the U.S.", she said.

You hear that a lot; unless she's being deliberately obtuse, it always seems to be unclear and to be determined.

In fact, Abanda was entered in a $50,000 tournament in Dothan, Alabama this week. It would have required a quick change, from a fast indoor hard court to a slow, probably wet, outdoor Har-Tru court. She is entered in a similar event the following week in Charlottesville, Va. and in another one the week after that at Indian Harbour Beach, Fla. But she has withdrawn from Dothan this week, per the tournament supervisor.

This week's tournament was a key one if she had aspirations of making it into the qualifying at the French Open, although it would remain a longshot. The cutoff for qualifying in Paris is based on next Monday's rankings. As it stands at the moment, it's a very high cutoff – about No. 180, which means even Abanda's Fed Cup teammates Sharon Fichman and Gabriela Dabowski are out as of today, although Dabrowski is close enough she would likely get in.

Abanda had a great week in Charlottesville a year ago, which took place during this week on the tournament calendar. She got through the qualifying and all the way to the quarter-finals of the main draw. As those points drop off the 52-week rolling ranking tabulation, she will sink from her current No. 256 down outside No. 270.

Even if Abanda had gone down to Alabama and won the tournament, she would still have been just outside the top 200; likely not good enough for Roland Garros. A more realistic short-term goal would be to really put pedal to medal in these next weeks in the U.S., and hope to get to a point where she might try the qualifying at Wimbledon for the first time in the pro ranks. There are no shortcuts to the top of the game (freebie wild cards aside); she'll have to earn it on the court.

In the end though, the proof is in the numbers. Abanda's current WTA ranking is basically the same as it was 12 months ago – even with those impressive performances at the Rogers Cup and in New York. That's called standing still, and doesn't happen often with a player of her talent and potential unless there are injuries involved.

So you can only hope that this past weekend will be the impetus that finally turns the tide.