Halep and Bouchard to contest their first Wimbledon semis

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  • On top: Bouchard is the only player to make the semis of all three majors this year

    A new generation of WTA players continue to make a statement and Simona Halep and Eugenie Bou­chard claimed convincing victo­ries to reach their first Wimbledon semi-finals yesterday.

    The pair are the only two wom­en’s players to make the quarter-finals in all three grand slams this season and they’ve both experienced a rapid rise in the game over the past 12 months.

    Halep entered last year’s Wim­bledon ranked No32 in the world and this year she came to the All England Club as the world No3 while Bouchard has risen from No66 to No13 in the same period.

    Bouchard will make her top-10 debut when the new rankings come out next Monday after the 20-year-old Canadian beat German No9 seed Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4, while Halep could rise to a career-high No2 should she reach the final.

    Yesterday’s 6-4, 6-0 victory over 2013 runner-up Sabine Lisicki was Halep’s 250th career win and she is now through to her second straight major semi-final, having made the final at Roland Garros last month.

    It’s only fitting that Halep and Bouchard – the two most consist­ent players in majors this season – would face off in the semis today, as they both help usher in a new wave of competitors look­ing to claim their first grand slam.

    Halep beat Bouchard in their only previous meeting, a tight three-setter earlier this year in Indian Wells, and the Romanian knows she must be prepared for a tough battle in the last four.

    “I have confidence in myself. I believe that I can win, but I expect a tough match. She’s a great player and she’s playing really well, so I just have to enjoy it,” said Halep, who was trailing Lisicki 1-4 in the opening set before she took the next 11 games to wrap up the win. “I learned from that match that I have to keep fighting till the end.”

    Bouchard, who is the only player to make the semi-finals in all three majors this year, is yet to drop a set at Wimbledon this fortnight and is looking to make that extra step this time around.

    “I’m excited to be in the semis but, of course, I'm never satisfied, so I definitely want to go a step further,” said Bouchard.

    “I think I played some great play­ers when I lost in the semis. You don’t win every time, but I’m going to look forward to try to play like I did today."

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