Eugenie Bouchard has to think back a few years to the moment when she felt she played to her potential at the Rogers Cup.
She's sitting courtside at Aviva Centre in Toronto in a spot of shade on a recent sunny afternoon, dressed head-to-toe in Nike training gear.
"Gosh, when was it," the 22-year-old said. "It was 2012, actually. I had just won the junior event at Wimbledon, and when I won a round at the Rogers Cup for the first time, it was a really big deal.
"I lost to Li Na in the second round, but it was a very competitive match. I think that's when I rose to the occasion of playing at home."
Bouchard will be the first to admit that she hasn't been able to do that in recent years.
In both 2014 and 2015, she has played her home tournament under a much bigger spotlight, especially in 2014 when she was ranked No. 5 in the world and had just cracked the Wimbledon final.
And in each of the last two years, Bouchard was ousted in the opening round in front of crowds in either Toronto or her hometown of Montreal, where she'll play this year.
"I've definitely felt more of that expectation and that pressure," she said.
But Bouchard has new approaches for dealing with the attention that accompanies her at home. The focus is of course on tennis, but she'll not only be catching up with friends and family while she's in Montreal, she'll also take some time to enjoy her home city.
"I'll definitely have poutine," Bouchard said. "My go-to spot is Orange Julep—it's the big orange ball, you can't miss it. Their poutine is definitely right up there. One of the best."
Smoked meat (she'll stop by Schwartz's Deli) is also on the itinerary.
Bouchard will also avoid reading this article and any others written about her. When she sees herself on TV these days, she changes the channel.
"It's very tempting to go do that, and I have in the past and I really force myself and really try not to," she said. "I see a story about myself on Twitter—nope, go do something else."
After her third-round loss at Wimbledon earlier this month, Bouchard reaffirmed that her No. 1 love is tennis, and told media she feels some think she spends her days doing photo shoots.
She smiles and tilts her head back when those comments come up, and she's asked whether she feels she has to defend herself.
"I shouldn't have to, and maybe I shouldn't," she said. "I try to ignore what people say about me, but sometimes it is hard.
"Especially after a lot of the same bull**** that's out there, it gets to you a little bit. For me, it was just to set the record straight: of course my number one priority is tennis, what do you guys think?"
The focus now is on getting through the second round for the first time in history at the Rogers Cup. And Bouchard has a tough draw: In her opener on Tuesday, she plays Lucie Safarova, who made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon and was ranked No. 5 in the world before a virus set her back.
Bouchard, too, is trying to climb back up the world rankings. She's No. 41 in the world, and coming off one of the most disappointing seasons of her career, which was cut short because of a concussion.
"There were moments in 2015 when it was tough and not fun to play, because of all the pressure and expectations," she said. "Everything was going wrong."
This year, Bouchard says, reminds her of her rookie season on Tour, "when I was a true underdog."
"In a way it makes me let go more and have no pressure, because I'm not expected to win. It's been a humbling experience. I try to see it as, 'Ok, it's like I'm grinding like my first year on tour again, let's prove I'm good, let's prove I can actually get back to where I was—and even better.'"
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