Canadian Eugenie Bouchard became the only player on the WTA Tour to reach three consecutive Grand Slam semifinal and she’s aiming to take another step further at the Wimbledon 2014 Championships.
Bouchard eliminated Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-3, 6-4 in a match that lasted an hour and 12 minutes. The day before, Kerber dug deep to upset former champion Maria Sharapova. Bouchard easily dispatched Alize Cornet, who eliminated five-time champion and world number one Serena Williams in the third round.
“I’m excited to be in the semis. But, of course, you know, I’m never satisfied, so I definitely want to go a step further, or as far as I can,” Bouchard said. “I think I’ve played some great players when I lost in the other semis – you can’t win every single time. But I’m going to look forward to it and try to play a little bit like I played today. I thought I was pretty solid out there and playing the right way on the grass.”
Bouchard will have another tough assignment ahead as she faces Romania’s Simona Halep. Halep, ranked number three in the world, defeated last year’s finalist Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-0. Halep has a 1-0 head to head series lead over Bouchard with their lone meeting taking place at Indian Wells earlier this year with the Romanian prevailing in three sets.
“We had a good match at Indian Wells. I felt like I had chances, was really close, and just lost that one,” Bouchard said. “I learned, you know, a little bit about her game. I think she’s playing really well.
“I’ll just try to go for it and take my chances and leave it all out on the court. It’s the semis, so I’m going to expect the toughest match ever.”
Bouchard is guaranteed to make her top ten debut next week by virtue of her semifinal run at the All England Club.
