Bouchard through to the final
Canadian Eugenie Bouchard has become the first girl to qualify for Saturday’s women’s final after three wins in two days at Calderstones Park.
The 16-year-old also got the chance to compete against former Wimbledon Champion Martina Hingis this afternoon, as the ‘Swiss Miss’ prepares for a doubles comeback at Wimbledon.
Bouchard began her week with a comprehensive 8-0 victory over Great Britain’s Chloe Murphy on Wednesday morning. Later that afternoon Bouchard won again, this time over local girl Amy Askew on Centre Court (8-4).
Today, the world number 30 in the junior rankings made it three wins from three as she defeated the highly rated Ana Bogdan of Romania on her return from injury (6-4, 6-3).
Liverpool Tennis caught up with her after her match to tell her the news: “I’m really excited, I love finals and hopefully I can win it!” said Bouchard.
“I love playing this tournament, it’s a great warm up for the grass court season. I have Roehampton and Wimbledon up next so hopefully I’ll be able to play a few more matches on the grass before then.”
But there was the small matter of a match with former World No.1 Martina Hingis up next for the Canadian and her legendary opponent was determined to keep up a wining streak of her own at this year’s tournament.
The pair traded breaks at the beginning of the first set as Bouchard’s exciting style of play won plaudits from the crowd and Hingis herself. But it was the experience of the 29-year-old which proved vital as she broke serve again to take the first set 6-3.
Bouchard fought back in the second set and managed to level at 4-4, but once again it was Hingis who forced the issue, breaking in the ninth game before serving out for a 6-3, 6-4 win.
“The match was closer than it looked in the end, I did well on the crucial points and that was the difference.” said Martina.
Meanwhile, Bouchard remained positive, after the biggest match-up of her career so far: “It was definitely a great experience to play Martina, she’s been one of the best players in the world. I had a really good time and I know what to work on now.”
Tournament Director Anders Borg was on Centre Court to witness play and he was full of praise for Bouchard after the match: “She reminds me of Caroline Wozniacki when she played here as a 16-year-old in 2008, now she’s ranked number three in the world! Eugenie is only 16 and if she keeps progressing then she can become a real success. She’s just the type of player we’re looking to bring to this tournament.”
Sean Molyneux
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