Eugenie Bouchard of Canada advanced to her first career Grand Slam final on Thursday after defeating French Open 2014 finalist and world number three Simona Halep 7-6, 6-2.
“It was a little crazy – I’ve never really ended a match like that,” Bouchard said. “I’m just happy I kept my focus and didn’t get distracted or anything and played well in the last game.
“I’m not surprised to be in the final, because I’ve put in a lot of hard work and it’s been years in the making. I believe in myself and I expect good results and I always want more. I’ve had a good start to the season, but I expect myself to do even better than that and that’s what I’m going to try and do.”
Bouchard is the only player on tour this season to reach the semifinal or better in all of the three Grand Slam tournaments so far. She will next face 2011 champion Petra Kvitova after the latter eliminated first-time Slam semifinalist Lucie Safarova.
“I’m really excited. I have a day off tomorrow and I can’t wait to play,” she said. “It’s my first Grand Slam final so I’m just going to go for it. I’ll probably have my toughest match yet and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
“She’ll go in prepared and I’ll be prepared as well – my coach will definitely watch her play and give me some tips. I’m just going to go out there and play my game. I think I can play even better today. I want to leave it all on court and we’ll see what happens.”
