Named after a princess and looking every inch like tennis royalty in the making, Canadian teen Eugenie Bouchard insists she won’t be overwhelmed in Thursday’s Australian Open semi-final against Li Na.
Bouchard, 19, leapt to prominence at Melbourne Park with her fourth-round win over local favourite Casey Dellacqua and backed that up with a dramatic quarter-final victory over former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic.
The stakes will be even higher against Australian Open specialist Li, who has advanced to the last four here for the fourth time in the past five years.
“It’s something I’ve been doing since I was five years old and working my whole life for and sacrificing a lot of things for, so it’s not exactly a surprise,” said Bouchard.
“I always expect myself to do well.
“I’m just happy to have gone through this step.
“But I’m not done.”
Bouchard’s only previous clash with Li was on home soil in Montreal in 2012, resulting in a commendable 6-4 6-4 loss a month after her breakthrough victory in the Wimbledon junior championships.
“She’s a great player,” said Bouchard, who along with twin sister Beatrice was named after the daughters of Prince Andrew.
“Obviously a lot of the players now are playing better with age.
“She’s still at the top of her game and it will be tough because she’s been in a lot more situations like this than me.
“I think I’ve been doing well this week handling big moments on the court.”
The big moments certainly don’t seem to be a problem for the self-composed Bouchard.
She reached her first career final in Osaka last October before losing to Australian Samantha Stosur and made enough of an impact in her first full year on the circuit to warrant a No.30 seeding for her Australian Open debut.
After going within a point of losing to Czech Lucie Safarova in the third round, Li has hit her straps, dropping only a total of eight games in dominant victories over seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Flavia Pennetta.
The Chinese star claimed her sole grand slam title at the 2011 French Open.
But it as at the Australian Open where Li has been a regular contender.
She lost the 2011 and 2013 finals to Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka and has reached the semis on two other occasions.
