Buzz: Who has tennis' biggest army?
— -- MELBOURNE, Australia -- It doesn't take a genius to figure out why Eugenie Bouchard captivates fans -- particularly those of a certain age and Y chromosome.
She has silky smooth groundstrokes, sleek footwork and a sheepish charm -- not to mention a movie-star presentation, if you will. She is a marketer's dream.
Despite everything she has going for her, courting the latest golden girl of tennis actually wasn't very difficult. Last season, here at the Australian Open, a group of mostly male fans came draped in Canada's red and white and bestowed Bouchard with presents and support in an effort to seek her approval. It worked.
And that was the birth of Genie's Army as we know it. Bouchard has reveled in the attention, giving her adoring admirers admission tickets to various events around the world. No matter where Bouchard goes, you can be sure she won't have an empty fan base.
Which got our Baseline Buzzers to thinking: Which players have the strongest, rowdiest, most rambunctious, strident, unruly followings?
Matt Wilansky: Jim, I know as of few days ago, you were officially inducted into the Genie Army camp. First, congratulations. But second, I must remind you that as an esteemed member of the media, no cheering in the press box, please. The ascent of Bouchard's following is fascinating, but in terms of a universal draw, I have only two words -- which I am sure you've heard before: Roger Federer. Last May, Time magazine published a list of its 100 most obsessed-over people in the world. Federer not only made the cut, but came in as the top-ranked athlete (No. 18 overall). In other words, people worldwide fawn over his every move. It's no coincidence that after Federer's four-set loss to Andreas Seppi on Friday, the ambient temperature dropped by about 20 degrees.
Jim Caple: You're correct, Fed does have a global army of supporters. But I'm not sure if Time magazine is the definitive word on such matters (its past Persons of the Year include Peter Ueberroth and a computer). Plus, I rarely hear Fed's fans shout anything more creative than "Allez, Rah-zehr!'' Genie's Army, meanwhile, come prepared with chants set to music ranging from the Beatles to Christmas carols -- Bouchard says her favorite is the one in which they sing, "Genie is Hot! Hot! Hot!'' The Genie Army troops numbers, however, are rather low, with a core of the dozen founding members here (but many more worldwide). More impressive was Marcos Baghdatis' Cypriot Army in his match against Grigor Dimitrov. They were large and they were loud, shouting, waving Cyprus flags and banging their seats. Although I'm not sure they sang, "Marcos is Hot! Hot! Hot!''
Matt Wilansky: Well, I can't speak for his aesthetics, but Baghdatis is no doubt a hot head, as you can see in this video from the 2012 Australian Open. I was actually on the court for the fifth set of his match against Dimitrov. There are two immediate takeaways: First, poor Dimitrov had two, perhaps three or four, supporters. And second, Baghdatis had an entire circus of devotees, yelling, screaming, banging and stomping away. Baghdatis says his staunch, Greek patrons invigorate him, which is why he plays well down here despite being relegated to the Challenger circuit these days. And credit to those fans. You could fit the tiny country Cyrus into Australia 831.7 times (true stat!), yet you'd swear Baghdatis was born and raised here judging by the decibel level when he's on the court.
Jim Caple: Another impressive following were the vocal fans passionately supporting Dudi Sela. They waved the Israeli flag and the Jewish star and vigorously rooted their man on in his second-round match against Lukas Rosol. Of course, that was over on Court 7 with its very limited seating, so their decibels stood out. The Dudi Army wasn't quite so dominant when Sela played -- and got whipped by -- Rafael Nadal on Rod Laver the next round. Sometimes, you need the troop numbers in addition to the passion.
Matt Wilansky: Hard not to devolve into a fifth-grader when you're sitting on the court and chants of "Let's go, Dudi!" penetrate the grounds over and over and ... over. But I digress. I hear what you're saying, though: The Dudi Army isn't yet ready for center stage, nor, I fear, will it ever be. But, Jim, I feel like we're missing the obvious: Is it me or does Melbourne Park turn into frenetic festival of love when its own are playing. The verve and anticipation in the stands pick up in a very noticeable way. Suddenly, Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic become every bit as big down here as Hugh Jackson and Keith Urban.
Jim Caple: And Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts and Geoffrey Rush and Cate Blanchette and ... it's amazing how a country of just 24 million produces so much acting and entertainment talent. And remarkable athletic talent, as well. You're right. Aussies are passionate about their sport, and they pack the court when one of their own plays. "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!'' As Victoria Azarenka said, this is a sport nation. And a great, great place for an army of any player or nation to be bivouacked in January. If only the soda prices were cheaper.
