Eugenie Bouchard dumbfounded by `give us a twirl` request

Melbourne: Eugenie Bouchard has become used to close scrutiny as she has risen through the ranks but was dumbfounded when a courtside interviewer demanded "give us a twirl" at the Australian Open.

Most on-court interviews deal with the match and form before getting into some lighter questions, but with Bouchard it was more about what she was wearing.

"Can you give us a twirl and tell us about your outfit?" asked Channel Seven`s male on-court interviewer after her second round clash late Wednesday.

Earlier, Serena Williams had unveiled a new backless playing dress which she said was designed to send a message about female empowerment.

She too had been asked to do a twirl, and reluctantly obliged.

"A twirl?" replied Bouchard, a 20-year-old Wimbledon runner-up, to which the interviewer responded, "A twirl, a pirouette, here we go."

Bouchard did as requested but later in her post-match media conference said it had been "very unexpected". 

"I mean, yeah, I don`t know. An old guy asking you to twirl, it was funny," she said.

Tennis fans on social media users were not impressed either. 

One Twitter user asked: "Would men be asked this question?" while another said: "Wish she`d hit him w/ her racket."

The issue also generated dozens of comments among online editions of Australian newspapers, although not everyone saw it as a problem.

"So you have missed the last 3-4 years where they`ve asked blokes - Nadal in particular - about his fashion choices, right?," said one comment.

"Geez, is this really the biggest problem we have right now, flattering a pretty girl about her appearance?"

During an-court interview at last year`s Australian Open, Bouchard was asked who her ideal date would be, to which she replied fellow Canadian Justin Bieber.