Eugenie Bouchard reached her first semi-final for 10 months as she battled intense heat to down higher-ranked Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Sydney International on Wednesday. The former Wimbledon finalist wore down the 27th-ranked Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 6-3 in 76 minutes to set up a semi-final with Britain's world number 10 Johanna Konta. It will be the 49th-ranked Canadian's first WTA Tour semi-final since the Malaysian Open in March last year. Bouchard beat Konta in three sets in the second round at last year's Wimbledon, but it was a battle. Konta continued her impressive progress through the Sydney International draw with a 6-3 7-5 win over rising young Russian Daria Kasatkina, who had eliminated German world number one Angelique Kerber in Tuesday's second round.
Elsewhere on a stifling day where temperatures topped 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit), former world number one Caroline Wozniacki went down in a punishing three-hour, 20 minute battle with Barbora Strycova 7-5, 6-7 (7/6), 6-4. Both players needed treatment for foot blisters on the broiling Ken Rosewall Arena hardcourt. Strycova in the semis will face the winner of the match between 2013 winner Agnieszka Radwanska and Chinese qualifier Duan Yingying. Wozniacki was attempting to end a run of seven Sydney International visits without getting past the quarter-finals. She battled back from 5-2 down in the second set and 5-0 in the tiebreaker but fell in the third set. - AFP, Sydney
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