Quebec City, QC – Wild card Lucie Safarova rallied past crowd favorite Eugenie Bouchard Saturday in the semifinals of the $235,000 Bell Challenge tennis tournament.
The third-seeded Czech battled back for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the fifth-seeded Bouchard, a native of the Montreal suburb of Westmount.
Safarova will be vying for her fifth career title and first since a 2008 triumph at Forest Hills. She finished as the runner-up at this tournament in 2009, one of five consecutive losses in finals.
Looking to extend Safarova's title drought will be 2011 Quebec finalist Marina Erakovic. The sixth-seeded native of New Zealand handled American Christina McHale, 6-4, 6-3.
Erakovic captured her maiden singles title at Memphis earlier this year.
The 2013 Bell Challenge champion will earn $40,000.
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