Although she lost to Na Li, Canadian darling, Eugenie Bouchard, proved a maturity well beyond her years to make her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open.
Genie signaled her intentions last seasons when she reached her first final in Osaka, semifinals in Strasbourg and Quebec, as well as the third round at Wimbledon. As a result she was named the 2013 WTA Newcomer of the Year.
In Melbourne, she cruised through the first three rounds without dropping a set, beating Chinese Hao Chen Tang, Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano, and American Lauren Davis. Things got a bit more difficult in the fourth round when she met home-hope, Casey Dellacqua. Although she's just 19, Bouchard showed her star quality, recovering from the loss of the first set to dismiss the Aussie 6-7,6-2,6-0.
She played the biggest match of her career in the quarterfinals, when she faced resuscitated Ana Ivanovic. Even though the Serbian was sky-high on confidence following her shock win over world No.1 Serena Williams, she couldn't quite manage Genie's inspired performance. I was quite impressed on how this fierce teenager handled the situation. Ivanovic was playing very close to her best, but she somehow was outplayed by her opponent's aggressive display. The Canadian once again overcame a slow start, laboring her way to a sensational 5-7,7-5,6-2 victory.
Probably a bit overwhelmed by the media hype, she couldn't quite play her game in the semifinal against Li. The Chinese was too strong mentally and physically to be denied and she emerged victorious 6-2,6-4. Although the Canadian's ream run ended here, she totally won my heart with her superb performance. She's uninhibited, aggressive, bold, enthusiastic about being on court, and determined to play her best tennis.
I am sure this is just the beginning of the journey for Genie. There's so much potential here, so watch out because she will confirm. GO #GenieArmy!
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| In a battle of the big hitters, Eugenie Bouchard overcame resuscitated Ana Ivanovic to book her place in her maiden Grand Slam semifinal. |
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| Genie made the delight of the Aussie crowd by confessing in the on-court interview that she would go on a date with teen idol, Justin Bieber. |
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| Playing in her first major semifinal, Eugenie was no match for Chinese Na Li, who cruised through 6-2,6-4. |
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