Eugenie Bouchard falls in semis at Aussie Open tuneup

​Eugenie Bouchard's strong run at the Sydney International came to an end Thursday, when the Canadian wild-card entry lost to Johanna Konta.

The Westmount, Que., native lost her semifinal match 6-2, 6-2 to Konta, who advanced to Friday's final against Agnieszka Radwanska.

The second-seeded Radwanska had earlier defeated a tired Barbora Strycova 6-1, 6-2.

"I've played her [Radwanska] twice and lost to her twice, so hopefully I can step up tomorrow night against her," the 25-year-old Konta said.

Konta, a Sydney-born British player, was a surprise semifinalist at last year's Australian Open and seeded ninth for this year's Grand Slam tournament. She broke Bouchard's service in the third game of the first set, then broke again to open the second.

Bouchard had a breakout season in 2014, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open and French Open before making the final at Wimbledon. But she has only gone past the fourth round at a major once since then and slipped to No. 46 at the end of last year.

On Thursday, Bouchard, who was trying to win three matches in a row for the first time in nearly a year, was overwhelmed by Konta's groundstrokes and strong return of serve.