Eugenie Bouchard advanced into her third Grand Slam semi-final of the year after putting up a reassuring display against Germany’s Angelique Kerber.
The 20-year-old world number 13, who previously reached the last-4 of this year’s Australian and French Open prior to her quarter-final duel with Kerber in an empty Court One, dominated with her service games on her way to a 6-3, 6-4 win.
After becoming the first Canadian woman to reach the Wimbledon last-4, Bouchard, next faces Simona Halep, who reeled off an incredible 11 consecutive games to record a 6-4, 6-0 win over another German Sabine Lisicki in just 57 minutes.
“It was definitely a tough battle, I have played her a few times now and it’s always been really tough,” Bouchard told the BBC Sport after the match. I knew it wasn’t over but I stuck in and managed to pull it off.
“I knew I couldn’t think ahead and had to stay in the moment and i just tried to play my game. ”
Both players took a point against each others’ serves in the first six games of the match, but it was Bouchard who first seized the initiative to save four break points in the seventh game and move ahead 4-3 before closing it out comfortably.
Former Junior Champion Bouchard forced an early break point off Kerber’s second serve with a forehand return winner, when her 26-year-old opponent sent her own forehand return long.
Bouchard lost touch on her service game midway through the second set to allow the fifth seed breath some air of revival. But at 5-4 the young Canadian hauled Kerber back and sealed the game.
On her semi-final with Simona Halep, Bouchard said: “I am excited she is a very good player so I am definitely ready for another tough match, I am so pleased to reach the semi-finals again but I was to go one step further this time around.”
