Naomi Broady loses to Eugenie Bouchard in Malaysian Open semis

Naomi Broady's excellent run at the Malaysian Open has come to an end after she was beaten by Eugenie Bouchard in the semi-finals.

It was a first WTA semi for Broady and she produced a gutsy performance but was no match for the resurgent Bouchard, who claimed a 6-4 6-3 win.

Former Wimbledon finalist Bouchard suffered through a very difficult 2015 and has slipped down to 52 in the world rankings.

However, she has been showing definite signs of a return to form this year and was quickly out of the blocks against Broady, breaking serve at the first opportunity.

Broady found her feet and fought hard over the rest of the set, staving off break points as she managed to keep tabs on Bouchard.

The British number three served seven aces in the set but was unable to threaten the Bouchard serve, winning just four points on the Canadian's delivery.

And it was a similar story in the second set as, although Broady did manage to create three break point chances, she was unable to convert any of them, while Bouchard broke twice, to emerge triumphant after an hour and a quarter.

Second seed Elina Svitolina will play Bouchard in the final, having cruised past China's Lin Zhu 6-3 6-3 in the first semi-final.

It will be a second final of the year for Bouchard, who lost to Alize Cornet in the Hobart decider in January.

And the sixth seed, who reached No 5 in the world during her amazing 2014 campaign, will be seeking a second career title, having won at Nurnberg in 2014.