Bouchard revival sees her into Hobart final

Omnisports

January 14, 2016 12:08 AM

Eugenie Bouchard's resurgence continued at the Hobart International as the unseeded Canadian star overcame Dominica Cibulkova to reach the final on Friday.

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Eugenie Bouchard's resurgence continued at the Hobart International as the Canadian star overcame Dominica Cibulkova to reach the final on Friday.

A serious bout of concussion derailed Bouchard's 2015 season following a fall at the US Open last year.

But the former world number five seems to have shrugged off the issue, with a 6-1 4-6 6-4 win over third seed and 2014 Australian Open finalist Cibulkova sealing a sixth win in seven matches to start the year, after reaching the Shenzhen Open quarters earlier this month.

Bouchard was in good form in Hobart but stumbled in the second set, despite being up a break four times as the semi-final went to a decider, though she eventually won through to her first WTA Tour final since 2014.

"I'm feeling pretty good. I wouldn't want to play if I was somewhat prepared, so I worked really hard in the off-season to catch up a little bit," said the unseeded Bouchard, who upstaged Camila Giorgi and Alison Van Uytvanck en route to the final.

"I'm just so happy to be back on the court. That's the most important thing - I'm so grateful and excited to be back playing on the tour again.

"I just love the feeling of playing tennis. When you're forced not to do something you really love, you realize you truly love it, and, for me, I realized how much I truly missed it."

Alize Cornet stands in the way of Bouchard and the ideal preparation for next week's Australian Open after the French seventh seed crushed Johanna Larsson in straight sets.

Cornet was a class above throughout late on Friday, closing out the match on her Swedish opponent's serve to post a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 victory.

Omnisports

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