Four players remain in the 2016 Hobart International singles draw – and by the end of today’s play there will be only two left.
It is semifinal day, with a spot in tomorrow’s final the prize on offer.
(3) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) v Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)
Head-to-head: Bouchard leads 1-0
The first semifinal on the schedule, starting not before 2.30pm, features two former Grand Slam finalists and top 10 stars. Cibulkova, the 2014 Australian Open finalist, and Bouchard, the 2014 Wimbledon runner-up, are two of the highest profile players to have competed in Hobart in the tournament’s 23-year history. Both have been crowd favourites this week and impressed on court, sweeping through the draw without losing a set.
Bouchard won their only previous match in the third round of US Open 2015.
“(It was) my best match of last year I would say,” Bouchard recalled of that match.
“I’m just looking forward to a great match, a great fight. She’s a big competitor out there and I don’t know what will happen, but I’ll try and enjoy it.”
Both players were quarterfinalists at Australian Open 2015, highlights in seasons derailed by injuries and confidence dips.
This marks Bouchard’s first semifinal appearance since September 2014, a positive sign as she aims to return to the top 10. Cibulkova, who missed five months last year with an Achilles injury, reached one semifinal for the year so will also be drawing confidence from her strong start to 2016 here in Hobart.
How both recover from yesterday’s rain-delayed quarterfinals could be telling to the outcome. Cibulkova needed more than seven hours to complete her win over qualifer Kiki Bertens, while Bouchard’s match against second seed Camila Giorgi finished at close to midnight.
> Quarterfinal match reports: Cibulkova, Bouchard
(7) Alize Cornet (FRA) v Johanna Larsson (SWE)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Frenchwoman Alize Cornet and Swede Johanna Larsson have qualified for this evening’s second semifinal in contrasting fashion.
Cornet, the tournament’s seventh seed and a former world No.11, did not even need to take to the court yesterday after ninth seed Mona Barthel withdrew from their quarterfinal with a back injury. In contrast, Larsson had to battle for more than two hours in the early hours of this morning to beat defending champion Heather Watson.
A battle-weary Larsson, speaking to hobartinternational.com.au when she walked off court after 2am, said she was expecting a tough battle.
“It’s going to be a tough one,” Larsson said. “Alize is a tough opponent, so let’s see if I can reload, get my energy back and fight for another win.”
Lack of court time won’t be a problem for Cornet – she needed almost three hours in an epic round two match earlier in the week.
> Quarterfinal match reports:Cornet, Larsson
Both semifinals are broadcast live on ESPN2. This means matches cannot be live streamed on our website.
Doubles semifinal action bookends the day’s schedule. Australian duo Jarmila Wolfe and Kimberly Birrell face top seeded Spanish duo Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja in the first semifinal. The Aussie pair have not lost a set so far in the tournament, while their experienced opponents have twice fought back from losing the first set.
The final match of the day sees defending doubles champions Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands and Larsson face China’s Xinyun Han and American Christina McHale.
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