In this Jan. 17, 2019, file photo, Canada's Bianca Andreescu makes a forehand return during a second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne.Aaron Favila/The Associated Press
Bianca Andreescu made quick work of Eugenie Bouchard in the first pro meeting between Canada’s top women’s tennis players.
The No. 6-seeded Andreescu, an 18-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., knocked off No. 3 Bouchard 6-2, 6-0 on Friday in a quarterfinal at the Oracle Challenger.
While the 24-year-old Bouchard has a better world ranking (No. 79) than Andreescu (No. 106), the latter player has posted the stronger results early in the year.
Andreescu reached the final of the season-opening ASB Classic in New Zealand before getting through qualifying and advancing to the second round of the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam. Andreescu’s biggest wins were back-to-back triumphs over former world No. 1s Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams in Auckland.
Bouchard, of Westmount, Que., has returned to the top 100 after nearly falling out of the top 200 at one point, but has a long way to go to match her career-high ranking of No. 5 in 2014.
On Friday, Andreescu won 78 per cent of her first-serve points, as compared to just 54 per cent for Bouchard. Second serve was even a greater advantage for Andreescu (71 per cent to 30 per cent).
Andreescu will face No. 2 seed Tatjana Maria of Germany in the semifinals on Saturday. The 74th-ranked Maria lost in the opening round of the Australian Open to American star Serena Williams
On the men’s side, Brayden Schnur of Pickering, Ont., also secured a semifinal spot.
The No. 16-seeded Schnur, of Pickering, Ont., upset No. 6 Jason Jung of Taiwan 6-2, 6-1.
Schnur, 23, is ranked 196th in the world, while Jung is 120th. Schnur beat the 81st-ranked Mackenzie McDonald of the U.S., the No. 3 seed, on Thursday.
It marks Schnur’s third consecutive semifinal appearance at an ATP Tour Challenger event. He’ll face unseeded American Donald Young on Saturday.