Eugenie Bouchard secured a spot in the Malaysian Open semifinals Friday.
The Westmount native beat 128nd-ranked Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-4, in Kuala Lumpur.
It took Bouchard, the sixth seed, one hour and 31 minutes to defeat Buyukakcay.
The climate in the Malaysian capital represented a challenge for many players this week and they were a physical and mental test for Bouchard.
“It’s more difficult here. It is very humid in Malaysia,” she said. “Sometimes I saw four balls instead of one. I continued to fight, to take the points one at a time and, fortunately, I won in two sets.”
Bouchard will face England’s Naomi Broady, who caused a stir by eliminating German No. 3 Sabine Lisicki 7-6 (4), 1-6, 7-5. Bouchard won her only career duel against Broady in 2012 in Florida.
In the other half of the draw, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina will face China’s Zhu Lin. Svitolina recovered after a difficult start to defeat Slovak Kristina Kucova 1-6, 6-1, 6-1. Zhu, after qualifying, beat compatriot Wang Qiang 6-3, 6-4.
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