The fairytale run of Eugenie Bouchard ended in the semifinal at the hands of a ruthless and efficient Li Na as she disposed of the 30th-seeded Canadian 6-2 6-4 in just less than 90 minutes. It was a case of too fast, too accurate and too strong as the fourth-seeded Li dictated play from the outset and never allowed Bouchard, who was 12 years her junior, to settle. The straight-sets victory means that Li will play in her third Australian Open final in four years. And there’s little to suggest she won’t go all the way in the absence of her nemesis, Victoria Azarenka.

Unlike Bouchard’s previous opponents, Li offered no real weakness for the Canadian to exploit. And she looked out of ideas in the very first game as she was broken three times for Na to run out to a 5-0 lead. Bouchard was finding it hard enough to get a look against Na’s serve, but she compounded this by struggling in her own service games. Her first-serve percentage languished at only 45%, and her second serve struggled at times to reach 75 mph. Thus, she was always going to find it tough against a merciless opponent who pounced on any short balls.

To Li’s credit, she hit the ball with exceptional clarity and precision as she changed direction at will, controlling the rallies with her accuracy. Even if the ball wasn’t short, she had a sublime center of gravity that allowed her to transfer her weight flawlessly through the shot. This meant she was hitting winners from two meters behind the baseline on defense. Her movement was also dynamic and allowed her to get to the net on high balls for easy put-away forehand volleys once she sensed her opponent was on the run. Despite making a charge for the second set, Bouchard looked out of her depth as she struggled against an opponent who not only was ranked higher but had been here twice before.

Despite being convincingly outplayed by her opponent, Bouchard saw the positives to take out of her game. “I feel like I belong in the top levels of the game,” she said. “I'm happy with how I've played. I feel I've been playing well and improving through the tournament.  I felt I was getting better as the matches went on, which is a good thing. I want to build on that and practice and keep raising my level.”

The 19-year-old Canadian said that, while she tried to approach the match in a normal manner, the semifinal took a whole new meaning. “I tried to think of it as just a normal match, but it felt bigger. It made it more important to stay focused,” she said.

“I came out and I wasn't playing very well. I was missing shots by a little bit here and there. She really took it to me at the beginning. Something you have to learn to really just get into it, go for it right away. But I feel I got into the match a little bit, but it wasn't enough.”

Although she won the match convincingly, Li wasn’t interested in any talk about it being easy. “Really it is not easy,” she said with contentment. “If you want to be in the semis, you have to win at least five matches. Also, especially in the Grand Slam, it’s never an easy match.”

Li also admitted to struggling to finish the match. “I think in the beginning of the match I played very well, but the second set was a little bit tight,” she reflected.  “Because I was feeling like I had one set (already won). And that was pretty much like feeling one foot was already in the final.”

Li will meet Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova in the Australian Open final after she dismantled Pole Agnieszka Radwanska in just 70 minutes to make her first ever major final. The tone of the match was set before both players even took the court with Radwanska appearing to be extremely nervous in the player’s tunnel, while Cibulkova instead wore a smile from ear to ear.

That’s exactly how the match unfolded as Radwanska was not able to match the heavy hitting from the pocket rocket across the net. Once again playing her aggressive style, Cibulkova attacked from the very first game as she broke Radwanska then before breaking her twice again to seal the first set 6-1. Although she did not use all of her weapons, she didn’t have to use them, since a poor Radwanska was unable to cope with the Slovak’s assault. This forced the Pole into errors as the match and the prospect of a first Australian Open final slipped out of her hands.

Radwanska hit twice as many unforced errors as she did winners, and that told the story of the match with Cibulkova limiting the amount of opportunities she allowed her opponent. Cibulkova played a simple but effective match as she broke Radwanska for the sixth time to seal it 6-2 in the second set.

Radwanska admitted she had trouble with the one-day break between today’s semifinal and her upset of two time defending champion Victoria Azarenka in yesterday’s quarterfinal.

“I felt like I was in slow motion today,” a visibly distressed Radwanska said. “I’ve had a couple of tough matches, especially yesterday. I think I was not fresh enough.”

But the fifth seed was still proud of her result in the tournament. “Semifinal of a grand slam is still a good result. I've never been into the semifinals here. I'm still happy that I did it,” she said. “But on the other hand, of course you always want more.”

An overjoyed Cibulkova entered the press conference with an even bigger smile than when she started the match. She was delighted with how she closed it out.

“I wanted to enjoy. Of course it was not easy when I was up in the second set,” the elated Slovakian said. “The thought started to come that I could win. I have to say, I was 100% ready for it and I was just doing what I had to do. That's why I won.”

Cibulkova also said that before looking forward to the final against Li, she wanted to try and enjoy her semifinal win over Radwanska. “I want to enjoy the few hours of today,” she said.

“Tomorrow I am going to prepare for the finals, and it’s a short time. The tournament is long, it's two weeks. But if you take it step by step, you give all in these two weeks, and then you can try and enjoy it.”

Cibulkova acknowledged that her opponent will hold the experience edge on Saturday. “She’s been in the finals of Grand Slam many times. She already won a Grand Slam, so she knows how it is,” she said.

“I'm playing finals, so that's something beautiful. It's like a dream. So I will go out there and play my best.”

Cibulkova is the first Slovakian to reach a major final. If she is to hoist the trophy at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night, she will have to create another first as she has not defeated Li on the last four attempts. With both players having similar styles, it is sure to be an engrossing contest.