Eugenie Bouchard Dreaming of More Australian Open Magic

World number seven Eugenie Bouchard returns to the Australian Open this week after a breakthrough year, aiming to take her game to the next level at the tournament that kickstarted her career.

The glamorous Canadian was an unknown teenager before last year's Australian Open but caught the tennis world's attention when she roared into the semi-finals, only to fall to eventual champion Li Na.

Another semi at the French Open followed and the 20-year-old reached the final at Wimbledon without dropping a set, firmly establishing herself as a top 10 player.

She became a crowd favourite at Melbourne Park, cheered on by the "Eugenie Army", and said the venue remained a special place for her.

"This was a great tournament for me last year, it started a great year for me," she said.

"I gained so much more experience... big matches, more high pressure situations.It's great to be back, I have memories flooding back all the time, on the practice court in the locker room, the press room."

But Bouchard said memories don't win tournaments and she had to post fresh victories to build on last year's success, beginning with her first round match against Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam on Monday.

She acknowledged that many young players often struggled with the weight on increased expectation following a breakthrough season, a trap she said she was determined to avoid.

"I try to see it as just a new year," she said. "I'm not concerned about defending points from last year. It's 2015, I start at zero and try to do as well as I can.

"My past results don't mean anything when I'm going to walk out on the court tomorrow. I still have to fight and try to play as well as I can. I have great memories from last year but it doesn't really mean anything to me this year."

- Coach change -

In order to maintain momentum, Bouchard parted with her long-time coach Nick Saviano in the off-season and has brought in Diego Ayala, who coached her as a child in Montreal, to oversee her Australian Open campaign.

"Change can be scary but it can also be good," she said. "It's just about adapting now, slowly putting the pieces in the right place. I'm feeling good."

Bouchard also increased her fitness work during the off-season and the prolific social media user said she would try to stay away from Twitter and Facebook during the tournament in order to remain focused.

Bouchard was not reading too much into her 6-2, 6-1 thrashing of tournament favourite Serena Williams at the Hopman Cup in Perth last week, when the 18-time Grand Slam champion appeared listless and tired.

"It was the Hopman Cup, so it wasn't a tournament," she said. "But it's still good to play against a great champion like that... (produce a better performance) than my previous encounters with her.

"I think I had a few good matches in Hopman in general. You know, hopefully that will help me this week."