Wimbledon 2014 Live Stream, Schedule, Preview: Simona Halep Faces Eugenie Bouchard; Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova Collide
The women's semifinals of the 2014 Wimbledon will not feature the big names that tennis fans are used to seeing, but the remaining four players are expected to go all out in hopes of giving fans what they are looking for.
Third-seeded Simona Halep of Romania will collide with 13th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, while compatriots Lucie Safarova and Petra Kvitova will go up against each other in the semifinals on Thursday.
Halep booked a spot in the final four with a 6-4, 6-0 straight-set win over Sabine Lisicki in the quarterfinals.
The 22-year-old Romanian, who finished second to Maria Sharapova in the French Open 2014, struggled against Lisicki in the early goings of their match. She trailed 1-4 in the first set, but she dominated the match from then on, capitalizing on Lisicki's 20 unforced errors and weak second serve.
Bouchard, on the other hand, progressed to her third consecutive semis at a grand slam, after cruising to a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.
Bouchard has yet to drop a set in the tournament, but the 20-year-old Canadian, who became the first woman from Canada to reach the Wimbledon semis, is expecting a tough match against Halep in the semis.
Halep, for her part, is also expecting a difficult match against Bouchard, but she has expressed confidence that she can defeat her dangerous opponent.
In the other semi-final pairing, 2011 Wimbledon champion Kvitova will look to move one step closer to securing another grand slam when she faces her compatriot Lucie Safarova.
Kvitova defeated another compatriot in the semifinals -- Barbora Strycova, 6-1, 7-5 -- while Safarova took down Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-1 in their quarter-final match.
Schedule, How to Watch
The Kvitova-Safarova match will start at 8 a.m. EST Thursday on the Centre Court, followed by the Halep-Bouchard showdown. Both matches will be available on ESPN and on WatchESPN using mobile devices.
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