Bouchard bounces Broady to make Malaysian final
Feature photo: Bouchard after her semifinal victory (via BMW Malaysian Open).
Eugenie Bouchard is through to her second Women’s Tennis Association final of the season after beating Naomi Broady of Great Britain 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur.
Bouchard broke Broady’s first service game of the match, which proved to be the difference in the opening set, where the Canadian (currently ranked 52nd in the world), didn’t allow her opponent any break point opportunities on way to winning 6-4.
The second set saw Broady save a couple of early break points to keep Bouchard from running away with the contest. The Brit had to relent in the fifth game when two more break points proved to be her undoing. Broady had three chances to finally win a service game from Bouchard, but the Canadian battled back down 15-40 in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. She then won her third break point in the next game to close out the match.
Bouchard’s win sets up a final against world number 19 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Sunday in Malaysia. The Canadian has yet to drop a set in four matches in Kuala Lumpur, although she had some trouble with the humidity on Friday in her semifinal (more on this below).
This will be Bouchard’s second WTA final of the season. In January she had reached the last day in Hobart ahead of the Australian Open.
Friday, March 4
Eugenie Bouchard serves during the first round of the Australian Open on January 18, 2016.
Playing through the humidity of Kuala Lumpur, Eugenie Bouchard has reached the semifinals of the BMW Malaysian Open with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey on Friday.
Through three rounds, Bouchard – the sixth seed – has beaten Ling Zhang (Hong Kong), Kurumi Nara (Japan) and Buyukakcay, never losing a single set and dropping only 12 games in total thus far in Malaysia.
Bouchard’s semifinal opponent will be Great Britain’s Naomi Broady, who upset number three seed and world no. 31 Sabine Lisicki of Germany.
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine is the top ranked player remaining in the tournament at 19th in the world. She faces Zhu Lin of China to book a final date.
Bouchard is currently ranked 52nd in the world as she looks to move up the table following a disappointing 2015 that ended with her suffering a concussion. She has already reached one WTA final this season in Hobart. On Friday, she said “I got a little dizzy” early in the second set, which she attributed to the humid conditions of the Malaysian capital, and thanked her physiotherapist for seeing her through the challenge.
