Eugenie Bouchard to the Wuhan Open semi-finals (updated)

Slowly but surely, Eugenie Bouchard is rounding back to Grand Slam form.

Her difficult summer on the North American hard courts in the rear-view mirror, the 20-year-old from Montrealer is into the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open, a first-year tournament that began on Sunday boasting a top-class field. But that field has fallen away, and it now becomes a tremendous opportunity for Bouchard to cement a spot at the year-end championships in Singapore next month.

Bouchard had a few issues in her first match of this Asian swing earlier in the week. But in a 6-2, 6-3 victory over American Alison Riske Wednesday, and a 6-3, 7-5 win over Alizé Cornet of France Thursday, she looked, well, she looked like her old self a lot of the time.

"I think it was very solid. I think my match today is the best match I've played in terms of being aggressive this week, although I did have a little dip when I was up in the second set, so that's something I'll have to work on," Bouchard said in a post-match interview with TennisTV.

There were hiccups. Bouchard was broken to start the match against Cornet, but quickly erased that. Leading 5-2 in the second set, she twice failed to close it out on her own serve.

That first break was a lot of good play from Cornet. The second was a combination of Cornet's good play and some nerves on Bouchard's side. The Canadian lost control of her serve, and those aggressive, confident net approaches she had made for a set and a half suddenly stopped at the service line – much as they did during the summer.

But once Cornet drew even in the set at 5-5, Bouchard immediately got back to work – breaking Cornet at love and serving out the match on the third occasion. She ended up 13-for-17 at the net.

The Canadian looks poised once again to take advantage of the premature departure of many of the top players in the draw, which welcomed 16 of the top 17 to its inaugural edition. Only Li Na, in whose hometown the tournament is held, was absent – and for good reason; she retired over the weekend.

At the Australian Open, it was Serena Williams who didn't make their appointed date in the quarter-finals. At Wimbledon, neither Williams nor Maria Sharapova, who were projected opponents through the fortnight, made it.

Bouchard was projected to meet Williams on Thursday but the world No. 1 had to retire, feeling dizzy and nauseous, late in the first set of her match against Cornet in the second round. A virus has swept through the tournament like a plague, taking down a lot of the players.

In fact, it was Cornet who upset Williams in the fourth round at Wimbledon, and Bouchard defeated the Frenchwoman in a tight quarter-final on her way to her first Grand Slam final.

Sharapova, in a shocker, went down to Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky in Wuhan.

So, to make the final of this Premier-5 event – the top level of tournament except for the Grand Slams, Bouchard needs to defeat No. 8 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who defeated Bacsinszky in three sets Thursday night.

It's hardly a cakewalk; Wozniacki has been resurgent this summer, reaching the U.S. Open final and regaining her customary spot in the top 10. Bouchard typically has done well against counterpunching players who don't necessarily create winners on their own terms but force their opponents into errors. But Wozniacki has raised that game style a notch a notch – or three – over the last few months.

Surprisingly, the two have never met before. It's scheduled for 7 p.m. in Wuhan – 7 a.m. EDT at home (4 a.m. for Bouchard fans on the West Coast).

"I'll look forward to a tough match. She's been in really good form recently," Bouchard said. "I'm looking forward to playing someone I've never played before. It's a fresh match."