File photo of Eugenie Bouchard
Former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard booked her first WTA final in more than four years at the Istanbul Tennis Championship on Saturday.
After the Canadian defeated Paula Badosa 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals, she will play Patricia Maria Tig in Sunday’s decider. Bouchard will go for her second title after winning in Nuremberg in 2014.
Tig, the highest-ranked player in the last four at 88th, defeated Tereza Martincova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3 in the second semifinal.
Bouchard is ranked 272nd after a losing record in 2019 and stop-start 2020. The Canadian had to come through qualifying to reach the Istanbul main draw.
Badosa won their only previous meeting in 2018, but Bouchard saved six of the seven break points she faced and finished strongly with three aces in the final game — including on match point — to beat the 94th-ranked Spaniard in 1 hour, 25 minutes.
